San Siro’s demolition pending after sale approved

Whilst the San Siro laid asleep, the Milan city council were very much awake. The conclusion of this council meeting resulted in the sale of the San Siro to the Milan clubs (Inter Milan and AC Milan) being agreed, following an eleventh hour meeting that lasted until 3.45am Tuesday morning.

At 4:50pm Monday afternoon, a statement from Alessandro Sorte, a member of the chamber of deputies, stated that “The San Siro resolution concerns not just a stadium, but a piece of history and the future of the city of Milan” and that they “will not vote yes, because this resolution remains full of limitations” nor would they “vote against either, because it would mean condemning Milan and Milanese people”.

The sale voting was not won by an overwhelming majority, with the votes resulting in 24 in favour of the sale and 20 against the sale, with two abstentions. This came after a tense atmosphere, with insults raining out, (as per milannews.it). Two of those who voted in favour of the sale were Alice Arienta and Monica Romano, Democratic Party councillors.

The sale of the 99-year stadium came to £172 million pound, with the Milan clubs planning to a new, modern 71,500 capacity ground. The Milan clubs aim for this reconstruction to be completed in time for Euro 2032, which they are joint-hosting with Turkey.

On the 30^th September, the Milan clubs released a statement saying that they “are pleased with the City Council’s approval of the sale of the San Siro and its surround area” calling it an “historic and decisive step for the future of the clubs and the city”.

After UEFA stripped the San Siro of the 2027 Champions League final and it was elected that the San Siro would not meet the criteria to host Euro 2032, it may be the stark reality that the demolition and reconstruction of the San Siro is long overdue. After Wembley has been reconstructed, followed by most recently the Nou Camp of Barcelona, there was perhaps a fear that the San Siro would maybe be left behind.

History of the San Siro

The cathedral of football - where the fanatical Ronaldinho, the Brazilian icon, who made his debut in 2008, and scored his first ever goal for AC Milan against bitter rivals Inter Milan. But also others, like the Italian brick walls Paolo Maldini and Franco Baresi, and the at-the-time world record signing Ruud Gullit have etched moments in history- will forever be known as a shrine of football greatness.

Despite AC Milan’s first ever game finishing in a 2-1 defeat against Genoa in October 1926, the San Siro was the venue for many significant periods and many moments etched in history. It was purchased first by the City of Milan, who started the first expansion project in 1935, which saw the construction of four connecting curves between the stands and an increase in capacity to 55,000.

After being selected for the 1990 World Cup, the San Siro went through more development, with these projects led by incredible architects Giancarlo Ragazzi, Enrico Hoffer and engineer Leo Finzi. This work saw the creation of the eleven famous cylindrical towers around the stadium which gave access to the ground, whilst four of these also held the large supporting beams for the new stadium roof. By this time the capacity had increased to 85,700. (via acmilan.com)

For Inter Milan, one of the greatest moments at the San Siro has to include the incredible work of Jose Mourinho and his team in 2010, which saw Inter Milan beat one of the best teams in history in Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona 3-1, with the return leg at the Camp Nou finishing 1-0 to Barcelona, which saw Inter Milan reach the champions league final. This final was won by Inter Milan, which saw them become the first ever Italian team to win the treble. (via onefootball.com)

For their rivals AC Milan, one of the most historic nights at the San Siro includes the 5-0 domination of Real Madrid, which saw AC Milan win the 1989 European Cup semifinal 6-1 on aggregate. One of the scorers being the Dutch icon Marco Van Basten and later-to-be Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti. (via onefootball.com)

The San Siro has also played host to hundreds of Milan derbies, which have seen Inter Milan winning this fixture 80 matches and AC Milan winning it 71 times whilst Inter Milan also hold the bragging rights of having the most Serie A titles (20 to AC Milan’s 19) and Coppa Italia titles (9 to AC Milan’s 5) whereas AC Milan have the most European Cup’s and Champions League’s (7 to Inter’s 3).

After all this, it is safe to say that the new San Siro will have high standards to meet.

So What does the Future Hold?

The stadium will indisputably become one of the major venues in the sporting world and an attraction to all players in the footballing world, helping the Milan clubs in their transfer business- not that they needed any help as they are already able to attract players of the stature of Luka Modric, despite not meeting the standards on the pitch during the 2024/25 season.

Furthermore, in a footballing world dominated by FFP, the new stadium will allow for the Milan clubs to spend more to improve the playing squad as revenue will undoubtedly also be increased.

However, could this be a cause for concern for the match-going fans with ticket prices potentially about to rise? That is something that is currently unknown.