What, I'm sorry? Earlier this year, the Italian heritage authority determined that San Siro has "no cultural interest" and should be dismantled. Milan and Inter have been discussing the construction of a new stadium for some time, but certainly they would prefer to renovate rather than demolish.
In other news, Inter is going to jail! The club has been charged with tax evasion after it was discovered it had not paid any taxes for several years. The club says it will fight the charges and there's nothing more to say about it at this point.
What is the purpose of the demolition of San Siro? San Siro is planned to be razed to make way for a new stadium and entertainment complex that will serve as Milan and Inter's home field. The new facility is expected to open in time for the 2014-15 season.
San Siro was built in 1890 and has been the home of Milan football club ever since. The stadium has undergone several renovations over the years but it has now become outdated and lacks modern facilities for both fans and players. The current capacity of San Siro is 50,000 people, which isn't enough to accommodate the growing number of supporters that follow the team.
In 2007, San Siro was chosen to host one half of the UEFA Champions League final between Chelsea and Liverpool. Although attendance records were not released, it is estimated that around 55,000 people came out to see the game which was won by Chelsea 3-1.
It wasn't long before talks began about demolishing San Siro and building a new stadium in its place. In 2009, former Milan player Daniele De Rossi announced his retirement from professional football due to serious injuries he had received while playing at San Siro. After discussing the possibility of moving to another city, De Rossi eventually decided to finish his career at Roma.
The San Siro, home stadium of AC Milan and Inter Milan in the Italian Serie A, will operate with a lower capacity during the 2019–20 season after local authorities acted to solve structural problems. The capacity of the stadium is 91,928, but it will be reduced to 45,000 for three matches per season.
Inter Milan and AC Milan will play their respective league matches at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on Saturday nights instead of the San Siro. The first match will be on November 23rd, one day after the end of the season because there is no time before January 1st. The last game will be on May 6th, 2020 because these are the dates that Inter and AC Milan can officially win their leagues. The club's presidents have decided this solution after several incidents involving safety concerns regarding the San Siro stadium.
There have been complaints about the quality of the food at Inter Milan's games and about the atmosphere, so the decision has been made not to risk further incidents by playing them at Meazza. The same problem had occurred this past summer when a football match had to be canceled because of temperatures outside the stadium that were too high for players to safely compete in.
However, in recent years, both Inter and Milan fans have simply referred to the stadium as San Siro. San Siro's most recent significant refurbishment, which cost $60 million, took place from 1987 to 1990 in preparation for the FIFA World Cup in 1990. The stadium's capacity was increased to 85,000 people, and a cover was built. Before this renovation, the highest attendance at San Siro was 80,145 in the first game of the 1934 World Cup.
Inter played their home games at La Scala until that venue was destroyed by fire in November 1979. They then moved into the new Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, which opened the following year. However, due to its small size (32,500 seats), the team began to play some of their home games at San Siro during the 1980-81 season. The club decided to build a new stadium after selling their share in Meazza to local rival AC Milan.
The current San Siro was built in time for the 1994 Winter Olympics in Norway. It has a capacity of 51,000 people and is mainly used for football (although inter-city matches and international games have been held there) but can also be used for other sports such as ice hockey and handball. The record attendance at San Siro is 109,567, set on May 2, 1995, when Milan played Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League.
The trip concludes with the official store, which offers Inter and Milan items throughout the year. Every day of the week, visit the San Siro stadium and explore your favorite sport from a fresh perspective.
However, in recent years, both Inter and Milan fans have simply referred to the stadium as San Siro. San Siro's most recent significant refurbishment, which cost $60 million, took place from 1987 to 1990 in preparation for the FIFA World Cup in 1990. The stadium's capacity was increased to 85,000 people, and a cover was built.
The San Siro is owned by a single team and a single group of fans. To an outsider, the name is inextricably linked with the Rossoneri, and after Inter Milan completes their projected relocation, the Rossoneri will once again be the sole occupants of the beautiful old stadium, as they have been for years. But the club was not always called that; it used to be known as Associazione Football Club Milano (AC Milan Association Football Club) until 1985, when its then-president Silvio Berlusconi bought the rights to use the name.
The club was founded in 1898 by a group of young entrepreneurs from Genoa who were interested in creating their own team after the success of the Italian league. They found an empty field on the outskirts of Milan where they could play, so they called it "Il Diavolo" (the devil). In 1901, the club joined the top division under the name Associazione Sportiva Dilettantistica Milan ("Association Sports League Milan"). In 1909, they moved into the new Stadio Artigiano Rossi, which had been built for them. The team became known as AC Milan in 1931 when they merged with local rivals Internazionale Milano.
Milan has always been one of Italy's most popular teams, and over the years they have won five championships.