Milan-Inter venue project ruffle feathers

Article posted by Coliseum, January 6^th, 2022

Image: Populous

Two appeals have been made against the project for the new stadium in Milan (Italy). The project concerns the planned new stadium of the top-flight football clubs AC Milan and FC Internazionale Milano (Italy).

There will be a meeting between all of the concerned parties on January 11^th, 2022, to discuss the above matter. The Milan Mayor, Beppe Sala, will also take part in the meeting.

Recently, both the top-flights had announced that Populous’ project – named ‘The Cathedral’ – has been selected for their new stadium.

On June 24^th, 2019, AC Milan and Inter Milan announced their intention to build a new stadium to replace their present residence – 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.

The ‘ITALY 24 NEWS’ stated that the above two appeals have been presented to the Tribunale Amministrativo Regionale (TAR), the Regional Administrative Court, against the resolution adopted on November 5^th, 2021 which declared the construction of a new stadium for the City of Milan to be in public interest. The celebrated design studio Populous is the architect of the development and the stadium will come up next to the historic 80,018-capacity Giuseppe Meazza in San Siro, Italy.

The first appeal against the proposed venue has been made by the Green San Siro Group, the former municipal councilor Basilio Rizzo and about 50 residents of the neighborhood where the facility will sit.

The legal action intends to “obtain the annulment of the declaration of public interest decided by the Council regarding the proposed intervention of the Elliott investment fund and the company Suning, respectively, owners of Milan and Inter on the municipal property area where the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium sits. This is an intervention that has very little to do with sport, football and even with the modernization of the stadium. It is, in fact, a colossal real estate operation (whose value revolves around one billion euros) on an area of approximately 281 thousand square meters of municipal property, of which only 14 percent is now occupied by the plant.”

The ‘ITALY 24 NEWS’ further stated that the second appeal came from lawyers Roberta Bertolani, Felice Besostri and Veronica Dini on behalf of the group Sì Meazza.

Cause of contention

The ‘sempremilan.com’ stated that AC Milan and Inter Milan announcing Populous as the architect of their planned venue has not gone down well with a section of the people.

Milan and Inter have had many meetings with the City Council over the stadium project and earlier, though, it seemed uncertain whether the venue will be built, of late, things are looking rosier on the stadium project front. Of course, the venue won’t be ready until after the 2026 Olympics in Milan.

AC 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.

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.

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.

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