GdS: ‘The stadium makes you rich’ – how Milan and Inter’s revenues could rise by €100m

AC Milan and Inter believe that their new stadium project will unlock currently inaccessible revenues, with takings more that doubling.

As La Gazzetta dello Sport write this morning, Milan and Inter want their new stadium to be a ‘living’ structure. It will explode on match days, but it will pulsate every day, and this is where the world changes compared to the present.

A machine capable of generating a continuous cash flow will be designed, a plan that will significantly boost revenues. Overall, today the two clubs each earn around €80m from their glorious stadium, a figure that is the sum of a complex series of items.

The ambitious plan is to add around €100m by 2031-32, when the new San Siro is expected to be opened, in time for the 2032 European Championship which Italy will co-host with Turkey. These are reasonable estimates, and the two clubs around them, even if a lot can change in five years.

Images: Gazzetta dello Sport

An expected boom

Over the next 9-12 months, Manica and Foster + Partners – the two architecture firms selected by Inter and Milan – will be involved in the design process (deciding on the style, features, and unique characteristics of the new 71,500-seat stadium).

At the same time, future attendance calculations will also be more detailed. Once the facility is fully operational, stadium revenues for each of the two clubs (translated from annual ticket sales plus new revenue) could reach approximately €180m per year.

It will no longer be just a stadium for events, but a facility immersed in the fabric of the city. This is why the combined daily revenues will make the difference. Between tickets, season tickets, and new executive spaces, Inter and Milan could each earn up to €130m per year.

As a point of comparison, looking at last season and the Nerazzurri’s run to the Champions League final – which they then lost 5-0 against Paris Saint-Germain – the total for their stadium revenues did not even hit €100m (€98.8m).

Tottenham, Real Madrid and Arsenal are the role models when it comes to stadium projects, especially in Milan’s eyes. All three big clubs more than doubled their revenue in their first year at their new home compared to the last year at their old one.

More than a stadium

The English lesson will especially help in negotiations for the sponsor who will give the stadium its name. Inter and Milan plan to go on the market with the so-called ‘naming rights’ by the end of 2026.

The new stadium will not really be like the Juventus Stadium built 14 years ago (the Bianconeri’s naming rights agreement is worth approximately €10m). It will encompass two teams, not one, and above all, it will exist in a city… with a different soul.

Inter and Milan will focus on numerous non-football events, starting with summer concerts (here too, the estimated sum to be raised is another tens of millions each). At the same time, sponsorships will also indirectly increase.

By creating greater value and strengthening the brand with such a strategic asset, revenues not directly attributable to the stadium will naturally flow in. Currently, from the combined sum of the two items – name plus sponsorship – Inter and Milan expect to earn up to €25m.

The future San Siro is expected to attract 500,000 visitors a year, almost all of whom will be diverted to the club museum, which will generate a total of €5m. Between parking (3,600 underground spaces), marketing and internal spaces, another €10m are expected.