The meeting of the Milan City Council, where the deal was discussed, lasted almost 12 hours. According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the vote ended at 03:50 local time. 24 council members voted in favor of the sale, 20 against. Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala earlier supported the initiative to sell the San Siro to soccer clubs.
The deal should be finalized by November 10 with the signing of the sale agreement. By that time it is planned to get the approval of the banks and finalize all procedures for the transfer of the facility. Once the deal is finalized, the architectural bureaus Manica and Foster + Partners, who worked, in particular, on the project of the new stadium “Wembley” in London, will start designing.
The management of Milan clubs intends to build a new stadium on the site of the current parking lot at the “San Siro”, and the old arena – to dismantle upon completion of construction. It is planned to preserve the southeast corner with the tower and parts of two stands – “Orange” and “Southern Curve”. The Milan authorities rushed the decision, as from November the second tier of the San Siro stadium will claim the status of an object of historical significance.
Construction is scheduled to start in the first half of 2027, it should be commissioned in 2031. Italy and Turkey have won the right to host the 2032 European Football Championship, and if the new arena is not opened on time, Milan will not be able to host matches of the tournament.
The San Siro stadium was built almost 100 years ago. FC Milan has been hosting home matches there since it was commissioned. “Inter have been using the stadium since 1947. The arena has hosted matches of two World Cups (1934, 1990) and the European Championship (1980).
