San Siro's future in limbo as UEFA passes 2027 UCL final buck
A general view of the stadium ahead of the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD1 match between AC Milan and Liverpool FC at Stadio San Siro, Milan, Italy, Sept. 17, 2024. (Getty Images Photo)


UEFA announced on Tuesday that the historic San Siro stadium will not host the Champions League final in 2027, prompting a search for a new venue.

The organization had previously granted the city of Milan additional time to confirm that the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza would be available amid scheduled renovation work between the 2026 Winter Olympics and the 2032 European Championship.

City authorities could not provide those guarantees, and the UEFA executive committee "decided not to assign the final to Milan and to reopen the bidding process to appoint a suitable venue."

The future of San Siro, which last staged the Champions League final in 2016, has been uncertain due to a long-term threat of demolition. Shared tenants AC Milan and Inter Milan have developed plans to build their own stadiums.

UEFA aims to select the venue for the 2027 final by next June. The next two Champions League finals will be held at Bayern Munich's stadium and the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary, respectively.

The decision on San Siro comes one week after UEFA senior management visited the city and watched Milan host Liverpool in a Champions League game.

The stadium, now with a capacity of about 75,000 seats, has hosted the showpiece game in European soccer four times: in 1965, when Inter won; Feyenoord's title in 1970; Bayern's victory in 2001; and Real Madrid's win in 2016.