Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala is spearheading efforts to retain both AC Milan and Inter Milan at the iconic San Siro stadium through a comprehensive renovation project. However, the Rossoneri’s inclination towards a new stadium in San Donato hints at potential challenges in keeping the clubs rooted in their historic home ground.
The initiative comes as Sala unveils plans for a renovation project aimed at modernizing San Siro without disrupting ongoing matches. Despite Sala’s optimism, AC Milan’s CEO Giorgio Furlani outlined the club’s divergent path during the Investopia 2024 event in Dubai, indicating a preference for a new stadium over the renovation of San Siro.
“Looking ahead, our future includes the continuation of our international expansion in the Middle East and America, along with our ambitious project to build a new stadium in San Donato. Given its age and limitation, San Siro no longer satisfies the necessary standards to offer the Milan fans an optimal experience.”
In contrast, Sala elaborated on his strategy to Il Fatto Quotidiano, revealing plans to grant construction company WeBuild three months to devise a feasible renovation proposal for San Siro. Sala expressed hope that a viable plan would allow the clubs to continue playing at the stadium during the renovation process:
“Our plan is to give WeBuild three months to come up with a realistic project. I hope it’ll put us in a condition to tell the teams that we could carry on the construction work without them playing elsewhere. At that point, the ball will be in their court in June.”
“I believe that a well-done restoration is the best way to go. We need to figure out how much time it could take: one, two, or three years. It’d happen in the summer for the most part but probably not exclusively. Milan, Inter, and WeBuild will attend our next meeting about San Siro, so they could clarify a few things. The project won’t be born out of thin air. The needs of the clubs have to be taken into consideration.”
