San Siro could be demolished after sale approved | OneFootball

AC Milan and Inter Milan’s shared stadium, the San Siro, could be set for demolition after the city council approved its sale to both clubs.

A nearly 12-hour overnight debate eventually went their way, with the vote to sell the existing stadium and the area surrounding it approved in the early hours of Tuesday.

The motion passed 24-20 at about 3 am. The two clubs, who share the 99-year-old ground, plan to tear it down and jointly build a new 71,500-seat arena as part of a huge urban regeneration project.

Milan and Inter released a joint statement calling the vote “a historic and decisive step for the future of the clubs and the city.”

It “will lead to the creation of a new stadium meeting the highest international standards — a world-class facility destined to become a new architectural icon for Milan and a symbol of the passion of football fans around the world.”

The San Siro stadium and the surrounding area have been valued at 197m euros (£172m), according to Italy’s tax agency.

The sale will have to be finalized before 10 November, when the second tier — which was completed 70 years ago on that date — takes on historical significance and would become almost impossible to tear down.

Last week, the clubs announced agreements with architectural firms Foster + Partners - who drew up the plans for Manchester United’s much-discussed new stadium - and Manica to design a new ground, after the city council issued preliminary approval for the sale.

The existing San Siro is slated to host the opening ceremony of the Milan-Cortina Olympics in February, with a new stadium planned to be ready for when Italy co-hosts the 2032 European Championship with Turkey.

The San Siro has been AC Milan’s home since 1926, but it has not been modernised since the 1990 World Cup, and it is not believed to be modern enough in its current state for UEFA to approve it for hosting tournament matches.

“We believe that we've done the right thing,” Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala said.

But an opposition group, the populist 5-Star Movement, denounced the sale as “a €1.3bn deal that would tear down the historic Meazza stadium and replace it with offices, shopping malls, luxury hotels and — only lastly — a new stadium.

It added that “real estate speculation in Milan has reached unsustainable levels and now the San Siro is also being sacrificed on the profit altar.”