For the past four years, AC Milan and Inter had plans to construct a new stadium in Milan, but a combination of factors have placed the project under serious doubt. Both Italian giants have shared the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in the district of San Siro since 1947, but it is owned by the local council and the two clubs wanted the opportunity to own their own stadium.
Il Corriere della Sera reports that the usual bureaucratic problems in Italy have hindered any progress and there is no clear date as to when construction would start.
Another issue that has risen is the ownership situation of the respective clubs since the two Milanese sides decided to build a new football ground: AC Milan have new owners and the current Inter ownership have had their issues bring in more capital.
AC Milan want new stadium, Inter have trouble
When the two Italian giants decided to build a stadium to share, AC Milan were under the ownership of Elliot Management. Since the American investment company sold the club to RedBird in June 2022, the new proprietors are no longer interested in sharing the costs with Inter and want to build their own stadium without the involvement of the Nerazzurri.
Meanwhile, Suning remain the majority shareholders of Inter, but the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to take out a loan to cover their operating expenses mean that the Biscione do not have the money to spend on a stadium project.
With the winter Olympics being co-hosted in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo in 2026, it is unlikely that a new stadium would be built before then because the mayor of Milan Giuseppe Sala wants the Stadio San Siro used for the games.
Stadium scenario in Milan typical of Italy
It is commonplace in Italy for city rivals to share football grounds to play in and for the local councils to own those stadiums. However, in a constantly evolving world in which many teams in other football nations own stadiums, Italian clubs are falling behind their foreign counterparts.
The likes of AS Roma and Fiorentina are just a couple of the Serie A clubs that have had to deal with plenty of red tape to get new stadiums built while the likes of Juventus, Udinese, Sassuolo, Atalanta, and Frosinone are among the very few clubs in the Italian game that actually own their football grounds.
It seems that AC Milan under RedBird are willing to create a project of their own but dealing with Sala and his cohorts will not be an easy task whatsoever.
