The San Siro Stadium, one of the most famous in the world, will be demolished after Milan City Hall approved on Tuesday (30) its sale to the two main teams of the Italian city: Inter and Milan.
The clubs had threatened to abandon the city if the sale was not approved.
After more than 11 hours of debate at City Hall, the sale was approved by 24 votes against 20, by 197 million euros (US $ 231 million, $ 1.23 billion).
The two clubs in the capital of Lombardia published a joint statement to celebrate the municipal decision, which, according to them, represents “a historical and decisive advance for the future of clubs and the city.”
Inter and Milan have reiterated the ambition to build “a worldwide stadium designed to become a new architectural icon for Milan and a symbol of the passion of fans around the world.”
With the decision, the economic capital of Italy decided that Inter and Milan will be the owners of the emblematic stadium and adjacent land.
The result of the vote was announced at 23h (Brasília time) of Monday (29).
The two clubs, both owned by US investment funds, and Milan mayor Giuseppe Sala, got what they sought after years of uncertainty about the project valued at 1.2 billion euros ($ 1.41 billion, $ 7.5 billion).
The clubs presented the proposal to buy the stadium in March. An earlier project, in which the land would remain public, was abandoned in 2023.
If the sale is completed before November 10 – when an order to protect the public buildings that would prevent the demolition of San Siro – Inter and Milan will take control of more than 28 hectares of public land in a densely populated area in a suburb in the West Zone of Milan.
The new San Siro, with a capacity of 71,500 fans, should be inaugurated in 2031. Then, the current stadium, the largest in Italy, with capacity for 75,000 spectators, will be demolished.
The sale was approved by the municipality thanks to the abstention of the councilors of the right-wing party ‘Forza Italia’, founded by the late former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who owned Milan.
The far -right parties call and ‘Fratelli d’Italia’ voted against the proposal, as are some councilors of the leftist majority who support the local room government.
