Inter-Milan in no mood to rejig San Siro

Article posted by Coliseum, November 30^th, 2022

Image: Populous

The public debate report on the San Siro Stadium (Italy) was presented on November 18th following 14 rounds of meetings. Now, the ball is in the court of the Milan Municipal authorities which has less than 60 days of time to arrive at a decision on the famed facility which is all set to be torn down post-2026 Winter Olympics – whether it will be razed down or totally restructured.

However, the die is almost cast – the Serie A teams Inter Milan and A.C. Milan are firm on going ahead with plans on building their own haute home venue and feels that total repurposing of the San Siro Stadium will just be a “waste of time and money”.

The plan is that the famed San Siro Stadium will be demolished entirely shortly after the 2026 Winter Olympics, under new plans put forward by A.C. Milan and Inter Milan. The stadium is due to host the Olympic Opening Ceremony in 2026, after which it will be knocked down and a new arena will come up on the adjacent site.

Apply for membership

‘gazzetta.it’ stated that on November 18^th in the Franco Brigida Hall of Palazzo Marino (town hall in Milan, Italy), the coordinator Andrea Pillon presented the final report.

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 A.C. 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.

The A.C. Milan is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980-1981 and 1982-1983 seasons, in the top flight of Italian football, known as Serie A since 1929-1930.

The Inter Milan is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy (Italy). Inter is the only Italian side to have always competed in the top flight of Italian football since its debut in 1909.

On June 24^th, 2019, A.C. Milan and Inter Milan announced their intention to build a new stadium to replace the San Siro. The new 60,000-capacity stadium, which would be constructed next to San Siro, is anticipated to cost US$800 million and was earlier expected to be ready for the 2022-2023 seasons.

In December 2021, the top-notch clubs announced that the celebrated design studio Populous’ project – ‘The Cathedral’ – has been selected for their new stadium.

‘The Cathedral’ is a celebration of the artistic and cultural heritage of Milan (Italy). Its design has been inspired by two of the most famous buildings in the City – the Duomo di Milano and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele – and will result in a unique stadium that will stand out from any other sporting arena in the world and will serve as the home venue of Italy’s top-rung clubs – A.C. Milan and Inter Milan.

The 2026 Winter Olympics, officially the XXV Olympic Winter Games and also known as Milano Cortina 2026, is an upcoming international multisport event scheduled to take place from February 6^th to February 22^nd, 2026 in the Italian Cities of Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.

Timeline

‘gazzetta.it’ further stated that Pillon and Gaia Romani, Councilor for Civic Services of the Municipality of Milan, presented the public debate timeline from September 28^th to November 18^th in the above meeting and the duo informed, “We have organized 14 meetings, which were attended by over 3,000 people who were physically present and majorly it was remote sessions. We aimed to involve people across all age brackets irrespective of gender and social backgrounds. We have tasted success and the San Siro demolition topic was one of the most followed debates in Italy. We have sent our report to the Inter and Milan clubs, to the National Commission and to the Municipality of Milan. Now, the Municipality has 60 days to evaluate the results and the proposals that have emerged therein and then publish a dossier in this regard.”

Futuristic Facility

The unanimous verdict delivered in the meeting was that the San Siro Stadium is in urgent need of total revamp work and the top-flights Inter Milan and A.C. Milan need a spiffy stadium of their own in keeping with the chic stadiums which several countries boast today.

Asserted Pillon, “Be it a brand-new facility or the San Siro being totally refurbished, both the clubs need a swanky home ground to call their own.”

Community Concerns

The community which resides in and around the San Siro Stadium pointed out in the meeting the common problems being faced by them – traffic snarls, noise pollution and diminishing green areas. The community representatives present in the meeting pointed out that in both the scenarios – whether the San Siro Stadium is pulled apart and rebuilt or the top-of-the-heap clubs get a new home to call their own – the interests of the community skirting the facility will have to be looked into and on a priority basis.

Put in Pillon, “Though A.C. Milan and Inter Milan have made it clear that operating from the present San Siro Stadium is no longer feasible, but they should also keep in mind the fact as to what will happen to the street vendors and business establishments which are lodged near the stadium if a mixed-use facility comes up in lieu of the present venue.”

The Die is Cast

What emerged from the public meeting is that both A.C. Milan and Inter Milan are determined to go ahead with their plans to build an avant-garde venue and their contention is that totally redecorating the present San Siro Stadium will be a very “expensive affair”.

Another major point of debate is around the capacity of the new stadium which could need to be reduced from 75,000 to 60,000. Many fear that will lead to a rise in ticket prices.

Saving San Siro

Recently, the Mayor of Milan – Giuseppe Sala – received an interesting and concrete proposal on his desk regarding the preservation of the current San Siro Stadium in its pristine form. The proposal came from none other but from ASM Global, an international company that organizes show events around the world and personally manages hundreds of stadiums worldwide.

Continue to follow Coliseum for latest updates on venues business news. Coliseum is dedicated towards building the best global community of sports and entertainment venue executives and professionals creating better and more profitable venues.

Become a member of the only Global Sports Venue Alliance and connect with stadiums, arenas and experts from around the world. Apply for membership at coliseum-online.com/alliance and make use of the 365Coliseum Business.

Watch 250 member-exclusive videos with valuable tips for your venue