Italian soccer giants AC Milan have announced plans to leave their iconic San Siro home and move into a new 70,000-seat stadium in the city’s south.
The club said they had filed a preliminary proposal with the city council of San Donato to build a new stadium, as well as a new club headquarters, museum, official shop, and hotel. There are also plans for an entertainment district and energy center “for the production of sustainable power.”
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Long term, AC Milan is looking to develop the infrastructure around the stadium through renovations of the suburb's railway station, metro station, and road network.
No financial details of the plan have been publicly disclosed but a source involved in the process told news outlet Reuters it will require an investment of at least €1 billion ($1.05 billion).
AC Milan chairman Paolo Scaroni said: “For over four years, we have embarked with conviction on a journey aimed at giving our club one of the best stadiums in the world, which is able to accompany us into a victorious and sustainable future.
“This represents a preliminary step in the evolution of this process but, at the same time, it is further proof of our ownership's commitment to guaranteeing continuous growth for AC Milan both on and off the pitch.”
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By GlobalDataThe move marks the beginning of the end of Milan’s tenancy at the San Siro, or Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, which the club has called home since 1926.
Like other clubs in Italy, AC Milan, who are owned by US private equity firm RedBird Capital, do not own the San Siro. Stadiums are seen as a key revenue generator for teams that do own their home venues, through commercial partnerships, including lucrative stadium title rights.
The San Siro, which is shared by local rivals Inter Milan, has not had significant renovation work carried out since the 1990 FIFA World Cup and all attempts by the two clubs to modernize it have collapsed.
In 2021, the two clubs announced plans to share a new 60,000-seater stadium on the existing site called ‘The Cathedral’. However, several protests, appeals, and municipal objections stalled the project.
The final blow to any renovation plans came in August this year, when a local heritage commission labeled the venue a “cultural interest,” preventing the clubs from knocking it down and forcing them to find new venues elsewhere.
Inter Milan are now also looking to build their own ground after filing a proposal for a new stadium in Assago, a small town to the south of Milan. Both clubs will continue to use the San Siro stadium while constructing their new homes.
Late last week, AC Milan announced a new partnership with Italian hard seltzer brand BOEM.
Read more: AC Milan: a giant no longer sleeping
