Inter-Milan to go separate ways on home venue?

Article posted by Coliseum, March 6^th, 2023

Image: Populous

Soccer fans are constantly wondering what will happen to the San Siro in Milan (Italy), one of the most iconic stadiums in the entire world that might be demolished in the coming years with both the Serie A teams Inter Milan and A.C. Milan looking for a new home. The clubs are quite often changing their ideas and projects about the future of their stadium. The scenario might be such that one might not see San Siro any more in the near future and what will happen to the two giant Italian clubs.

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.

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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.

Why Inter and AC Milan want to leave

‘cbssports.com’ stated that the main aspect to explain about this story is the reason why both clubs are now playing in San Siro but want to leave the iconic stadium. The reasons are multiple, but on top of everything, there is a financial explanation. In Italy, most of the stadiums are owned by the City and the clubs pay rent to play in the stadium. This is happening for all the Italian clubs, except the Serie A teams Juventus F.C., Atalanta B.C. and Udinese Calcio. For this technicality, the clubs that are renting the stadium can’t make as much in revenue as the others that own their respective stadium and can’t also invest as much as they want to renovate the infrastructure.

In this case, San Siro was built back in 1926 and saw few major renovations in 1937, 1954, 1990, and 2015, but even if it’s still one of the most incredible and astonishing stadiums around the world, it can’t compete with other ones in terms of revenue. Both Inter and AC Milan’s first idea was to keep and renovate San Siro, but as the Nerazzurri head honcho Alessandro Antonello pointed out, that was not possible – “The first tier was built in 1926, the second in 1956 and a third added in 1990 with the roof. These were placed one on top of the other, but have very little connection between them. This means there are very limited spaces for businesses and restoration.”

A Common Project

‘cbssports.com’ further stated that later on, the two clubs tried to work on a common project that meant demolishing San Siro and replacing it with a new stadium in the same place, as other European clubs have done in the past years. The project was approved in December 2021 when Inter and AC Milan announced ‘The Cathedral’ had been selected for their new stadium. It would also see a “reconfiguration of the area in the San Siro neighborhood, currently occupied by the Meazza Stadium (another name for the San Siro), through the creation of a new district dedicated to sport and leisure”.

However, many things changed in the past year. AC Milan was sold to RedBird Capital Partners (investment service in New York, US), who consider the stadium a priority while Inter are facing a quite difficult financial situation under Chinese owner Steven Zhang the past two years. On top of that, things are not moving quickly with the City of Milan which still has to give the final green light for the common project that would mark the end of the San Siro era. Also, Milan will host the 2026 Winter Olympic Games and the opening ceremony will take place at the San Siro. In any case, even if the new project will be approved, before that day the stadium won’t be touched at all.

‘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 if things pan out successfully.

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-22^nd, 2026. The event will have the Italian Cities of Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo as the main Host Cities.

And Now?

The latest reports suggest that both Inter and A.C. Milan will build their own stadium in two different areas, even if Inter Milan head honcho Antonello insisted on March 1^st that the common project is still the priority – “I remain confident in building the stadium together with A.C. Milan. After three and a half years of intense work, especially after getting the general approval of the City Council, a lot more thought would be needed to give up on a project like this.”

Antonello added, “Having said that, Inter have clarity on what our next steps would be whatever the case may be, whether Milan decide to stay at San Siro or whether they decide to move plans elsewhere. We have a Plan B in place which is there to protect the interests of the club and, above all, the fans.”

If Inter and A.C. Milan will build their new stadiums elsewhere, the main question about San Siro will change: What to do with it? It’s definitely too early to think about this scenario, but many soccer fans around the world would be happy after all.

Over the years, the San Siro has hosted games from the 1934 and 1990 World Cups, four Champions League finals, games at Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) EURO 1980 and numerous iconic musical acts like the English rock band The Rolling Stones, Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley and The Wailers, and the American singer-songwriter Madonna, and more.

Inter Stadium

Earlier, ‘La Gazzetta dello Sport’ stated that Inter Milan will have its own stadium. And it won’t be San Siro. Zhang’s club has an operational Plan B, which is about to become plan A. There is already an area identified, within the municipality of Milan. What’s more: It is private land and the Nerazzurri (Inter Milan) have an armored agreement in place with the entrepreneur who owns the area.

The location is top secret, but it won’t be long before the cards are revealed. What is missing? Basically, Inter want to be sure that there really isn’t any chance of proceeding with the San Siro plan. The A.C. Milan it seems is determined to build its own home venue elsewhere.

‘La Gazzetta dello Sport’ further stated that the entire issue is very sensitive and the two Milan clubs it seems is firm on boasting their own respective home grounds and there seems to be total lack of communication between the two clubs.

The new urban plan for the City of Milan is expected by March end and sources stated that the new San Siro does not find a place in it.

It is stated that due to the above reason, Inter Milan has already identified an area to build their own facility and onsite inspections have already been carried out. A scenario has emerged where there is every likelihood of Inter and Milan boasting two separate digs of their own.

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