San Siro will remain untouched for at least two years. This decision was taken by the Regional Administrative Court, following the intervention of the Milan City Council, which had appealed to the Regional Heritage Commission, on the question of the existence of cultural restrictions.

Milan stadium as cultural heritage

The Lombardy Regional Administrative Court has rejected a request to demolish the venue, and an official ban on Giuseppe Meazza's demolition could come into force in 2025. The stadium's west stand was provisionally reviewed in July 2023 as a cultural heritage site, and the court granted the ruling in recent weeks.

According to sportmediaset.mediaset.it AC Milan and Inter Milan are in favour of changing the current court decision and have filed an appeal against it. According to them, the restriction could have serious economic repercussions in terms of management costs and forced maintenance, and risks ‘keeping the stadium alive’ as an empty arena where no football match will take place and the San Siro will become a museum only.

According to a panel of the Third Section of the Provincial Administrative Court, made up of judges Bignami-Fornataro-Gatti, the Milan clubs' appeal was unacceptable, pointing out that the stand does not yet meet the requirement under the law to qualify as a monument (one more year is missing, so the ban will come into effect in 2025). In addition, the Board of Trustees, as well as the Regional Secretariat, considered the application in such a way that there could be a future review. This is only a preventive and optional opinion, which was commissioned at the request of the municipality.

Verification of the actual restriction can only be carried out 70 years after the construction of the stand. The topic should return before the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, when San Siro will open this great event.

© Grzegorz Kaliciak 

Reactions from interested sides

The two Milanese clubs have long had different plans. They have long been planning to escape the old city stadium, looking towards Rozzano for the Nerazzurri, towards San Donato Milanese for the Rossoneri. In short, sharing the same venue has an exact expiry date: both Inter and AC Milan have no intention of undertaking the restructuring of the stadium. According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, they have stated that it is not possible to adapt the existing facility to current legal requirements.

Milan mayor Giuseppe Sala returned to the stadium issue: Our way of renovating the facility is the only possible way. In doing so, he is trying to point out that there are only two paths for the Nerazzurri and Rossoneri at the moment: either renovating or leaving the stadium. It will be a victory for the city to convince the clubs to stay at the San Siro, and building new facilities should not be within the Italian teams' interests.

Inter vice-president Javier Zanetti is in favour of the solution of redeveloping the Giuseppe Meazza, but on one condition. The renovation should be profitable for the Milanese clubs, and an appropriate solution must be found with the authorities on the subject. This is the home of football in Milan. It is an impressive stadium. It has hosted historic moments of world football. San Siro will always be San Siro. If there was an economic opportunity to renovate it, that would be great. If not, we will have to go elsewhere - Zanetti added.

© Grzegorz Kaliciak 

City council plans for concerts

New rules have been announced for the concerts to be held at San Siro in the summer of 2024. The first point set out in the guidelines concerns maximum capacity. The three venues, namely the San Siro stadium and the two hippodromes, Snai La Maura and Snai San Siro, can together accommodate 78,500 participants. The same attendance was approved for two cultural events at the same time on one evening. The concerts at La Maura will have to end at 23:30.

For the entire 2024 season, no more than 15 concerts will be approved as exceptions to the statutory decibel limits, including no more than five at La Maura Racecourse. To reduce traffic congestion, concert-attendees are advised to park in other neighbourhoods. From there, it will be possible to use the metro and other public transport services, which will have increased journeys and extended timetables on the days of the events.

© Grzegorz Kaliciak