City council backs San Siro sale, advancing Milan clubs’ new stadium project

MILAN - Milan's city council approved on Sept 30 the sale of the San Siro stadium and surrounding land to local football clubs Inter and AC Milan for €197 million (S$299 million), paving the way for its demolition and the construction of a new venue.  

Originally built in 1926, the San Siro, with its striking spiral staircases wrapped around the outside of the stadium, was renovated for the 1990 World Cup but lacks the facilities offered by other top European football venues.

Milan and Inter, who have long shared the use of the historic ground, see building a joint modern arena as vital to boosting their match-day revenue, which lags behind their European rivals.  

The two clubs last week hired architectural firms Foster + Partners and Manica to work on a new stadium with a capacity of 71,500, part of a broader redevelopment of the area with commercial and residential buildings.

First discussed in 2019, the plan to demolish San Siro and replace it with a modern facility faced opposition from politicians and local citizens' committees, and others who would like to preserve one of the temples of Italian football.

“We have tried to turn over a new leaf, and we are only at the beginning,” said Milan Deputy Mayor Anna Scavuzzo after the nearly 12-hour city council session, which ended in the early hours of Sept 30 morning.

Under the clubs’ projects, San Siro, which will host the Winter Olympics opening ceremony in February, will continue to stage their matches until the new stadium is ready nearby on the site.

The old ground will be demolished except for a heritage section comprising part of its second tier.

Italy is under growing pressure to upgrade the quality of its stadiums, driven by foreign investors backing Serie A clubs and the need for more functional venues for the 2032 European Championship, which it will co-host with Turkey.

Officially known as the Giuseppe Meazza after a forward who played for both Milan and Inter in the 1920s-1940s, San Siro is Italy’s biggest stadium, with a capacity of nearly 76,000, and also hosts live concerts.

Mayor Giuseppe Sala, who is backed by a centre-left coalition, also sought to promote its full revamp, but both Milan and Inter, which are owned by US investment funds RedBird and Oaktree respectively, billed the idea as unfeasible. 

Sala eventually agreed to move ahead with the clubs’ proposal after they began exploring plans to build two separate stadiums on Milan’s outskirts – potentially leaving the city with the burden of an abandoned arena. REUTERS