Inter Milan and AC Milan are rekindling their ambitions to construct a new stadium on the iconic San Siro site, but the Serie A powerhouses still have a considerable journey ahead before stepping into the modern arena they have long envisioned.
A "positive" meeting held on Tuesday between the two clubs, Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala, and Italy’s culture and sports ministers has reignited the project, which was shelved in 2023 after navigating three years of bureaucratic and political hurdles.
Originally estimated at 1.3 billion euros ($1.4 billion), the revamped proposal will now entail a partial demolition of the existing city-owned San Siro, making way for green spaces and a variety of sports and entertainment facilities.
Meanwhile, a new stadium, which in the previous project was planned to have a capacity of 60,000, would be built in the area immediately west of the current ground, which is occupied by parking and a local park.
However, this time around, the clubs will have to agree to purchase the land, which, according to the latest reports, is set to be valued at around 200 million euros.
That sale would take time, assuming it is approved by the Milan city council, and given the strong local opposition to the project last time, there is no guarantee of a vote in the clubs’ favor.
Left in dark
Sources within the council told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that any vote would be on a knife’s edge, as councilors across the political spectrum have been angered by what they see as a bypassing of local democracy while Sala tries to avoid being the mayor who let two of the world’s biggest football clubs leave the city.
Earlier this year, AC Milan acquired land in the nearby town of San Donato Milanese for 40 million euros and has still not officially abandoned the idea of building there, while Inter has looked at Rozzano and Assago, also to the south of the city.
One source told AFP that the Milan city council has been left in the dark about both the revised San Siro project and a proposal, rejected as too costly by the two clubs, to modernize the current stadium.
They said a vote against the sale could bring down Sala’s local government and potentially hand Italy’s economic capital to the right-wing coalition that leads the country.
If the clubs move elsewhere, it wouldn’t just be politically costly; it would also leave the city with a huge, unused stadium on its outskirts, which would no longer generate 7 million euros in annual rent and would have to be either repurposed or demolished.
If the stadium – due to host the 2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremony – is still in public hands by the end of next year, a building protection order preventing the demolition of its second tier will automatically come into effect.
If Milan and Inter purchase the land before that deadline, it would stop the restriction from being activated automatically, but Sala has said a complete demolition is "very unlikely, and the clubs know that."
Supporters’ concerns
Fans also have concerns, particularly regarding the drastically reduced capacity compared to the current stadium, which regularly holds more than 70,000 spectators.
Not only did the previously proposed stadium have about 15,000 fewer seats for the two best-supported teams in Italy, each of which has 40,000 season ticket holders, but it was also planned to include a minimum of 9,000 corporate hospitality places, increasing to 13,500 for some events.
"We have always believed from our experience that any stadium would need to have a capacity of at least 70,000," said Giuseppe Munafo, president of the major Milan supporters’ association AIMC.
"Our position is that we would like any new stadium to maintain the same number of seats that aren’t for what we would call the elite – those places that are sold for 1,000 euros."
The AIMC is affiliated with Milan and brings together tens of thousands of fans.
Both the AIMC and the hardcore ultras supporters have staged protests at recent Milan matches over a startling increase in prices for general-sale tickets.