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AC Milan and Inter risk being left empty-handed by the Council in the new stadium project again, with alternative plans being evaluated.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) write this morning, it has been a case of one step forward then two steps back since 2019, when the joint stadium project was first announced by the two Milanese clubs.
This time, as the weeks pass, the growing risk over San Siro increases. The bureaucratic inertia of August is obviously not helping, because if everything had gone according to plan and based on the plan outlined by the parties involved, the home stretch would have been reached by the end of July.
The documents published by the Council at the end of April, in fact, reported ‘confirmation of the declaration of public interest no later than June 30, 2025, with the commitment to sign the purchase deed by July 31, 2025’.
In short, by now everything should have been more or less smooth sailing and August could have flowed much more peacefully.
Hope to worry
In mid-July, two highly positive developments emerged. Firstly, the Lombardy Regional Administrative Court (TAR) had rejected the request for a stay on the sale of the stadium and surrounding areas presented by the Sì Meazza Committee.
Secondly, AC Milan, Inter and the City Council had reached an agreement on the price of the entire site, namely the €197m set by the Revenue Agency (a figure that was subsequently examined further and confirmed).
It thus looked as though two big steps forward could be taken before getting to too close to November 10th, the date on which the restrictions on the current San Siro’s second tier would come into effect, preventing its demolition.
This latter scenario is essential for the joint project. However, the judicial upheaval over Milan’s urban planning has thrown everything into disarray. The stadium issue, along with the related processes, has been put on ice.
Amid arrests and high-profile resignations (most notably that of Urban Planning Councilor Tancredi), Mayor Sala has made it clear he intends to move forward, although he has postponed any discussions regarding the stadium until September, for obvious convenience.
The next steps
It’s now become a race against time and in the meantime another constraint has emerged on the west side of the current Meazza, considered by the Superintendency to be an ‘exposed archive’ due to the presence of certain plaques and epigraphs.
The project must be approved by the City Council and the Executive Committee by November 10th, along with a final agreement for the sale and purchase, and the deed of sale. The political transition appears particularly difficult, with Sala risking not having the mandate.
The problem lies primarily within the majority: the mayor, in order to move forward, has made the approval of the San Siro project a condition for his supporting parties.
His critics within the majority itself are demanding that their continued support require a sign of discontinuity with the past, with San Siro as a key issue. These positions, on paper, are irreconcilable. This is why Sala hopes to be able to find some votes in the opposition.
Milan’s mayor is confident he can overcome all the obstacles, and Milan and Inter also maintain a certain confidence. If things collapse, the Rossoneri still have the San Donato project open and valid, while Inter’s option on Rozzano has expired.
Until proven otherwise, the clubs will wait, especially since they can only be spectators when it comes to Milan’s political situation. September will be the month of do-or-die, but the atmosphere is heavy and time is running out.
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