Should AC Milan and Inter Milan Leave San Siro?

The San Siro saga continues to rumble on. The latest meeting between the two sides and the Milan city council ended in yet more fruitless talks surrounding not just their potential new homes, but the status of one of the most beloved football cathedrals in the world.

It’s been five years since both AC Milan and Inter Milan revealed the idea for a new, and shared, San Siro. The new stadium was set to be built next to the current one, and it would’ve had roughly the same capacity, but incorporating more VIP boxes and thus becoming a greater source of revenue.

Cue delirium from people across the nation, who deemed it a ‘national monument’ and the debate about whether San Siro should be torn down began in earnest.

Half a decade later and nothing has happened. San Siro remains in place with not a brick out of place (or, at least, not on purpose), and the two Milanese clubs are banging their heads in frustration at not being allowed to demolish the cherished arena.

“If we want to live on memories, we can stay at San Siro,” said Paolo Maldini last year. “The players make history. It’s a stadium that has changed a lot; it’s not the same as it was 80 years ago. But can we keep living on memories?”

After the stadium passed into national monument status and therefore couldn’t be completely demolished, both clubs looked at leaving it entirely. Milan sussed out a potential new stadium in the San Donato district of the city, Inter announced they’d build a new stadium in Rozzano, some six miles south of central Milan.

Both projects have been bogged down in the infamous byzantine world of Italian bureaucracy, as is the way with all new modern stadium projects. To appease both clubs, Milan mayor Giuseppe Sala asked WeBuild, an Italian construction company, to put together a brief on how much it would cost to renovate San Siro and keep both clubs where they are.

Both teams have now rejected this out of hand. The latest idea among the clubs is now to revert back to the original idea presented five years ago: a shared stadium built next to the original Guiseppe Meazza. 

Whether this will get the go ahead remains to be seen. With Euro 2032 not far off in the distance and Italy as one of the co-hosts, the country is now under serious pressure to get organised and build or renovate stadiums. 

But should San Siro be demolished?

We ask the Destination Calcio team for their thoughts.

Emmet Gates: Look, having been to many of the greatest stadiums around the world, San Siro is my absolute favourite. When it’s full to capacity, there is no arena quite like it. Its sheer scale resembles a spaceship that crashed and landed on the outskirts of Milan. Yet there’s little doubt the two teams deserve a modern stadium. The facilities inside San Siro are mediocre at best, and the seats aren’t exactly the most comfortable.

Serie A needs a strong Milan pair for the betterment of the league, and the only way both can achieve this and get back to prior levels is by moving to a new stadium and earning more revenue. It helps the clubs buy better players and improves the product on TV, something that’s been an issue for Serie A for decades. So, as painful as it may be, I’m all for both clubs moving to new stadiums. The time has come. Demolish.

Dan Cancian: It’s perfectly in keeping with football’s new-found obsession for ditching history at every opportunity that the San Siro’s days appear numbered, despite being arguably one of Italy’s most significant venues and one of the greatest sporting cathedrals in the world. Yes, everything looks better through nostalgia-tinted glasses, and yes, the stadium clearly needs modernising, as the facilities pale in comparison with those of more modern arenas.

But Barcelona and Real Madrid have shown that historic grounds can be redeveloped and modernised, provided there’s the will to do so. Manchester United may still follow that particular path, and Liverpool has just expanded Anfield. The nuclear option may not always be the best option, particularly if it involves moving both Inter and Milan away from the area.

A state-of-the-art ground may well revive both clubs’ finances, but what of their fans and trophies? Arsenal and Spurs have both built swanky new stadiums over the past two decades, and supporters have footed part of the bill, with ticket prices going through the roof. A grand total of four major trophies have been added to Arsenal’s trophy cabinet in the 19 years since they left Highbury, while Spurs have yet to open their account. Shinier doesn’t necessarily equal more successful. Refurbish.

David Ferrini: I adore the symbiosis between both clubs sharing the same venue, rotating from one week to the next. However, there’s nothing wrong with either (or both) clubs leaving; Torino and Juventus are good examples. Hypothetically, several ways exist to transform Inter and Milan and their respective homes. I commiserate with each club for the hours lost dealing with the local council, which only has its interests in mind.

Yes, the global wow factor must be considered when making a final decision. Still, the fans (not talking about the Ultras) are the most important demographic to consider: Milan and Lombardy residents must be prioritised as they’ll be footing the bill (as Dan has pointed out) for years to come through inflated ticket prices. The last thing Serie A needs is to make the same mistakes as certain Premier League clubs in order to keep up with the Joneses.

With an eyeball on Euro 2032, refurbishing the current Giuseppe Meazza is the easiest path forward. Transportation to the ground is another important factor, and Milan already supports this via the purple line from Garibaldi station to San Siro.

Is there a world where San Siro is refurbished, and a new stadium is built in the south of the city? The clubs seem ready to launch, but the council won’t permit innovation if it affects their bottom line, which is a nationwide problem (see Naples and Rome).

From a fan perspective, and I indeed speak for everyone here, I beg the San Siro refurb team to increase the depth of the grandstand steps by 5-10cm. El Dios only knows how many times I’ve nearly tumbled down them. And how many heads have to hit the knees of the people sitting behind them before someone does something? A century, it would seem.

I’m a sucker for nostalgia. I love football culture and its rich history. I want to see a venue remain at the San Siro, refurbished to spec or rebuilt. Again, that allows for a new stadium, bureaucracy permitting. Having lived and worked in the calcio space in Italy, I understand how slow things move. As Emmet pointed out last month, Italy needs Euro 2032 to stem the bleeding, so let’s do whatever confirms international football tournaments can be played here. Refurbish.