The original capacity was near to 5,000, due to the terraces conformation of the stands in the 1960s and in the 1970s, and it was only later reduced to 3,000 because of the new arena laws introduced by the Italian Parliament.

The arena has also hosted various concerts of Italian artists, like the local born Luciano Ligabue.

In 2016, a plan to upgrade to the capacity to 4,600 was approved by the local municipality, with the construction work starting in the summer.

In the same year, a public initiative, called "La Nostra Storia nel PalaBigi" (Our History in PalaBigi), was started by a local young fan, who aimed to dedicate the new sections of the arena, to the great former players of the club that marked the history of the arena; and to create a museum of its sports history, in order to preserve the arena's original identity, despite the new reconstruction.

The initiative saw more than 300 people signing on to the popular petition, which addressed the Municipality of Reggio Emilia.