Though their stadium is Italy's largest, Milan's derby rivals fall behind in revenue. To boost their profile both AC Milan and Inter express willingness to invest.

On Monday a high-profile meeting took place in Milan. The city's mayor and thus owner of Stadio Giuseppe Meazza took on representatives of AC Milan and Internazionale.

“We share the belief that a modern, renovated stadium provides an element of value to the city of Milan and for the clubs,” mayor Giuseppe Sala is quoted as saying by ANSA. “Both sides have expressed their willingness to invest.

Photo: Andreas Gniffke (cc: by-nc-sa)

“A working group will be opened to assess all the possible options we have available with the aim of identifying, in just a few months, the best solution for the demands of the city's two clubs and of the fans.”

The group should come up with the most feasible plan within the next six months and renovations should begin to take place in 2018. The process will be gradual in order to enable constant use of the stadium. The most likely scenario is reduction in capacity (81,227 at present) as the corporate hospitality offer needs to be enhanced.

San Siro was built in 1926 and hasn't seen major structural changes since 1990, when works worth some $60 million were carried out. Ahead of last year's Champions League final further €30 million were invested in technological, media and hospitality upgrades.