Bid to keep Inter, AC Milan at San Siro

Article posted by Coliseum, January 26^th, 2024

Image: Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, D7ckon, CC BY-SA 4.0

City officials in Milan, Italy are having one last throw of the dice as they bid to keep Inter and AC Milan in the San Siro stadium.

La Repubblica said municipal authorities are suggesting a new project that proposes the renovation of the Meazza at a cost of around €300 million and without the two clubs having to find another place to play during the works.

Under the plans, reconstruction works will be carried out as matches continue to be played at the world-famous venue.

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The Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, commonly known as the San Siro, is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy, which is the home of AC Milan and Inter Milan. It has a seating capacity of 80,018, making it one of the largest stadiums in Europe and the largest in Italy.

It is unlikely that Inter and Milan, now looking respectively at new stadia in Rozzano and San Donnato, will row back on their plans again, however.

The two top-flight Italian clubs opted to build separate stadia after their dreams of demolishing and rebuilding a new stadium on the site of the San Siro were thwarted.

This was because the second ring of the stadium was placed under an anti-demolition restriction because it is turning 70 years old, achieving a status where it is protected by law.

It cannot be demolished after 2025 and plans were being drawn up to demolish the San Siro Stadium after 2026 as the venue will be deployed for the 2026 Winter Olympics to be held in Italy.

La Repubblica further stated that the redevelopment of the Scala del calcio is an option that Inter and Milan have always rejected, as they do not want to play in a building site and on cost grounds.

They also felt they would not be able to achieve a final build quality in line with the homes of other great European teams.

A project to renovate the Meazza — the Aceti-Magistretti Gallery — had already been presented, but it has always remained unlikely.

The new redevelopment plan bears the technical signature of the architecture and engineering firm Arco Associati.

Under the plans, the newly revamped San Siro would have 75,000 seats, 5,000 more than the two arenas that the clubs are having designed outside Milan.

Of these, 10,000 would be VIP seats, including sky boxes and other premium offerings. The general design also provides for a fourth ring to be developed, complementing the existing structure.

Access to the stadium would also be improved to become more welcoming with green areas, while there would also be redevelopment of the surrounding district.

The goal is to appeal to both clubs and city councillors, including those who in recent years have proved to be more sceptical and intransigent about a new arena being built on the site of the current one.

A feasibility study for the project will be presented to councillors on 31 January. From there, if the solution is accepted by the teams, the Municipality would have to prepare an international competition for drafting of the final project first and then the executive one.

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