The Mayor of Milan, Giuseppe Sala, has said AC Milan and Inter Milan will deliver their vision for a new stadium next week after holding what he described as “very cordial” meeting with the two Italian Serie A football clubs.
The masterplan has been developed as a result of Milan and Inter signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in November through which the two clubs have worked together on a stadium project. A joint taskforce was established to analyse all options, including a brand-new stadium or renovating the iconic San Siro.
It was reported last month that Milan and Inter had agreed on the future of the San Siro, with the clubs said to favour the development of a new stadium rather than the renovation of their existing home.
Italian newspaper La Repubblica said the two rivals had agreed terms on a €700m (£628.2m/$787.1m) project that will involve the development of a new stadium in time for the 2022-23 season. The stadium will be located adjacent to the San Siro on land that is currently used for parking.
Sala needs to give the green light to the scheme, with the municipality requiring compensation for the demolition of the San Siro, which it owns. Following yesterday’s (Thursday’s) meeting, Sala said, according to Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera: “It was a courtesy meeting. Before bringing the file, which will be a very substantial thing, and they will do it next week, they explained to me the reasons why they believe that the new stadium is the optimal solution.
“I have seen nothing of the project and will deliver everything next week, at which point I will ask the offices before making any judgment to look at the consistency of the project with our rules.”
Regarding the design of the stadium, Sala said: “What they told us is that they are likely to have an open invitation competition. And so one thing that we should not expect and you shouldn’t expect, will be renderings of the stadium because they seem to me to be determined to make an open invitation competition. They mentioned that they would also like to invite architectural firms that already have experience in stadium construction.”
Sala has recently maintained that he would like the San Siro to remain in place for the city’s staging of the 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo last month defeated a rival joint bid from Stockholm-Åre to land the 2026 Games and the San Siro has been pinpointed to host the opening ceremony.
Sala added: “Let’s see how the project they bring next week will look, I reiterated my desire to keep the San Siro alive until the Olympics.”
The San Siro first opened in 1926 and has undergone several renovations, most notably for Italy’s staging of the 1990 FIFA World Cup. AC Milan has called the stadium home since it opened, while Inter started using the San Siro in 1947.
Image: Jose Luis Hidalgo R.
