One of the world’s most famous stadiums is set for demolition after Milan city hall early yesterday approved the sale of the San Siro, nicknamed soccer’s La Scala, to the city’s two soccer giants.
Inter and AC Milan had both threatened to abandon the city had the sale not been approved after having looked at sites in nearby suburbs.
More than 11 hours of debate at city hall ended with 24 votes in favor of the sale for 197 million euros (US$231.5 million) and 20 against — enough for Italy’s economic capital to decree that Inter and AC Milan would become owners of the iconic stadium and adjacent land.
Photo: AFP
Confirmation of a vote in favor of the resolution did not come until nearly 4am after a long night that included discussion of a raft of proposed amendments.
In the end, Inter and AC Milan, both owned by US investment funds, and Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala got what they wanted after years of uncertainty over a 1.2 billion euro project.
The clubs proposed the purchase of the site to the city in March after a previous project in which the land remained public was abandoned in 2023.
Photo: AFP
As long as the sale is completed by Nov. 10 — when a public building protection order preventing the demolition of the San Siro comes into effect — Inter and AC Milan would take control of just over 28 hectares of public land in a densely populated area on the western outskirts of Milan. It is on the land to the immediate west of the San Siro, currently occupied by matchday car parking and a local park, where a modern 71,500-capacity arena would be built. Once the new ground is constructed, San Siro would be almost entirely demolished to make way for new parkland, office space and entertainment facilities with everything to be designed by architectural firms Foster and Partners and MANICA.
It would still be some years before the bulldozers come for the current San Siro, where Inter and AC Milan would continue to play their matches to crowds of up to 75,000 until 2031 when the clubs hope to have the new stadium finished.
The clubs and Sala were helped by the abstention of councilors from the right-wing Forza Italian party founded by deceased Italian prime minister and ex-AC Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi.
The other opposition parties, the hard-right League and Brothers of Italy, voted against the proposal, as did a number of councilors from the left-leaning majority which backs Sala’s local government.
There has been anger across the political spectrum in Milan at what councilors see as a bypassing of local democracy, with Sala trying to avoid being the mayor who allowed two of the world’s biggest soccer clubs to leave Milan.
The proposal was criticized by some members of the council for not containing any details of the development of the new stadium and surrounding area, while the price was also blasted as being too low for a prime area of real-estate.
The vote would please the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), as Milan is one of the potential candidates to hold matches at UEFA Euro 2032, which is set to be jointly hosted by Italy and Turkey.
The FIGC needs to communicate to UEFA its five official picks for hosting stadiums by October next year, when it can present new stadiums or ones which need to be redeveloped as long as works begin by March 2027.
Only one of Italy’s 14 potential candidates — Juventus’ Allianz Stadium in Turin — is currently in line with the criteria set by European soccer governing body.
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