On Tuesday in Milan, two parallel scenarios unfolded regarding the future of San Siro. On one side, a meeting of the authorities about the sale of the stadium. On the other, preparations for a major demonstration.

Meeting at city hall

At noon on Tuesday, a meeting was held between Democratic Party councillors and Deputy Mayor Anna Scavuzzo, who is temporarily responsible for urban planning. Its purpose was to present the details of the agreement between the municipality and the clubs. The key issue is the valuation of the stadium and the surrounding land - Agenzia delle Entrate set the package value at €197 million, a figure also confirmed by studies from Bocconi University and the Polytechnic University of Milan.

Councillors are also to be informed about the impact of the entire operation on the stadium’s surroundings. Concerns focus mainly on the greenery concept, which in Inter and Milan’s project covers more than half the area, but in practice part of this space would be suspended and thus not actual recreational land.

The meeting is also meant to outline a timetable. According to the plan, by the end of September the resolution on the sale should reach the city council for debate, and by 10 November the clubs expect the transaction to be finalized. This date is not accidenta - precisely then, restrictions on the use of San Siro’s second tier are expected to come into force.

© Grzegorz Kaliciak 

Tense vote

The debate in the city council was expected to be heated from the start. It was immediately known that there would be six votes against - among them Green councillors Carlo Monguzzi, Tommaso Gorini, and Francesca Cucchiara, mixed group representative Enrico Fedrighini, and two Democrats: Alessandro Giungi and Rosario Pantaleo.

Giungi, a long-time opponent of the new stadium, was described in conversations revealed by the prosecutor’s office as a common psychopath. These comments were made in 2022 by former planning councillor Giancarlo Tancredi, director general Christian Malangone, and manager Simona Collarini. The insults directed at me by the former councillor and management, as an opponent of the San Siro real estate operation and a meticulous chairman of the Olympic Commission, only strengthen me. My oversight actions will, if possible, be even more determined, Giungi replies today.

Concerns also arise over the so-called discount. Although the base valuation amounts to €197 million, a reduction of around €30 million is being considered for land reclamation, demolition and reconstruction of the Patroclo tunnel, and the creation of new green areas. For critics, this means the risk of selling the land at an undervalued price—as little as about €300 per square meter. The prosecutor’s office and the Court of Auditors are examining the possibility of financial damage.

© Grzegorz Kaliciak 

Social mobilization

While political talks were taking place at city hall, in the evening representatives of community centres and trade unions gathered at the Camera del Lavoro to finalize the details of the demonstration that took place on Saturday, 6 September. On the square appeared social centres from northern Italy, radical left-wing parties, the ANPI association of partisans, the CGIL trade union, and grassroots workers’ organizations.

The slogan of the protest was Giù le mani da San Siro (Hands off San Siro). The call to join the rally was promoted on social media by activist Paolo Hutter, among others. Along with around 20,000 demonstrators, Palestinian flags were seen; at the front marched the Leoncavallo collective with the banner Hands off the city, followed by the Antifascist Mothers of Leoncavallo. Some politicians were also present at the rally. Opponents referred to it as a demonstration supporting criminals.