Dark clouds are looming over AC Milan's ambitious plans. A group of residents backed by lawyers have filed a request with the court to annul decisions pushing forward preparations for the construction of a new stadium in San Donato Milanese. Will this force the club to seek an alternative location for the planned arena? The fate of the facility is at stake.

Opponents of the stadium are taking legal action

The Nuovo stadio del Milan a San Donato project has encountered an obstacle that could jeopardise the location of the Rossoneri's new arena in San Donato Milanese, a municipality southeast of Milan. In January the San Donato Milanese Municipal Council gave a positive assessment of the preliminary plans presented by AC Milan for a new stadium. However, the opponents did not give up.

13 residents of San Donato and Chiaravalle, backed by the No Stadium in San Donato Milanese committee and a group of lawyers, sent an official appeal to the Regional Administrative Court (TAR) in Milan, seeking the annulment of the Municipal Council's resolution of January 24, as well as the Implementation Plan approved by the administration.

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An unlawful project?

Accusing Mayor Francesco Squeri of refusing to talk to residents, one of the committee's representatives, Innocente Curci, said that they would make every effort to stop a project that we consider harmful to our territory. He also argued that many residents of Milan and the villages around the new facility would be affected by the construction.

For her part, Ilaria Battistini, the lawyer responsible for the document submitted to the TAR, found legal incompatibilities after analysing the documents, particularly in the resolution of the City Council. In her opinion, the works are unfeasible, and the 23-page appeal aims to prove this thesis.

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Will the AC Milan stadium project be rejected?

The reaction to these reports has been that the President of the City Council, Roberto Gambetti, has called a meeting in which the opposition to the project and the possible suspension of the project will be discussed as an urgent motion. According to information from Calcio e Finanza, the motion will most likely be rejected so as not to delay negotiations on the programme agreement.

In turn, the date for the first hearing before the TAR in Milan has been set for June 4. There are many indications that the opposition in the City Council will not succeed in stopping the arena project that will replace AC Milan's Stadio San Siro. However, the TAR may do so if it accepts the arguments of the project's opponents.

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