Featured image credit: San Siro Stadium
Italian construction company Webuild is proposing to demolish the San Siro’s entire first and third tiers under proposals for the venue’s revamp.
Webuild was tasked in February with compiling a feasibility study for Serie A giants AC Milan and Internazionale to stay at their historic home. According to La Repubblica, Webuild has now submitted its plan for Stadio Giuseppe Meazza to stakeholders.
The feasibility study suggests the work could be completed in three years. Webuild has pledged that the majority of work can be done in the summer months to avoid disrupting the football season. Even when work is taking place, capacity would only be reduce by up to 5,000 seats at a time.
An entirely new first tier means a smaller capacity in that area but would allow for more high-priced hospitality seating. The San Siro currently has just 2,900 such seats, but this would increase to 13,000.
The stadium’s overall capacity of around 73,000 would be kept almost the same thanks to the addition of seats in place of the illuminated board overlooking Via Piccolomini. This would be around 3,000 more than the new venues that Milan and Inter considered, but around 2,000 less than the San Siro’s current capacity.
In another change, a walkway would be installed to connect the stadium to a club museum.
The newspaper anticipates that interested parties, including the clubs, will make their decision on whether to pursue the San Siro plan before the end of next week.
Arco Associati’s San Siro plan
Earlier this year, Webuild told the Municipality of Milan that it would be prepared to undertake a revamp of the San Siro, based on the project already presented by architectural studio Arco Associati. The presentation was made in January in an effort to persuade Milan and Inter to remain at their current home instead of building new stadiums. The project, which will cost around €300m (£256.2m/$324.7m), is being led by Arco Associati.
Following the February meeting, the Municipality said: “Webuild SpA will collaborate pro bono, according to the availability in this sense already expressed, with the drafting of a feasibility study which must be delivered in three months.
“The teams will produce guidelines for a possible renovation that will lead to the availability of a more modern and efficient stadium. Following this, the municipal administration and the teams will verify the possibility and ways to proceed.”
Giuseppe Sala, Mayor of Milan, noted in February that Inter and Milan will continue to explore existing alternative possibilities, but expressed his hope that the path undertaken at San Siro will “quickly lead to a satisfactory conclusion for all players on the pitch”.
New venues still under discussion
In December 2021, Populous saw off competition from MANICA/Sportium to land the original contract to design a new stadium on land adjacent to the Meazza. Populous’ project, dubbed ‘The Cathedral’, was selected, with the coming weeks having promised the finalisation of the objectives and development process of Milan’s new stadium.
However, the venture became mired in bureaucratic red-tape to the extent that both Milan and Inter, which was due to share the proposed new stadium with its arch rival, are now pursuing alternative plans.
These remain very much the focus of the two clubs. Earlier this month, Milan took another step towards developing a new stadium in the Municipality of San Donato Milanese after completing the acquisition of a package of land for the project.
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