President Paolo Scaroni of AC Milan has released some statements to Sky Sport regarding the Rossoneri club and the stadium project. His words:
On the San Siro issue:
"I have been working on this issue for years. From day one, speaking with Mayor Sala, whom I have met many times, I have always tried to convince him that we should make the most beautiful stadium in the world at San Siro because Milan deserves a beautiful stadium. The issue dragged on for years, then it was almost a death blow with the indication of the Superintendence on the second ring of San Siro. This did not close the issue definitively, but it certainly blocked the dreams of Milan and Inter. So we started to evaluate the possibility of building a new stadium by ourselves. If in 2018 we had been able to convince the municipal administration to build the new San Siro, the stadium would probably already be under construction now. We have certainly lost time, but sometimes obstacles turn into opportunities and for me San Donato is a great opportunity for Milan."
Scaroni added:
"I hope the new stadium will become as iconic as San Siro. We want to make the most beautiful stadium in the world. It will be a 70,000-seater that is an eco-friendly facility. We want to bring value to a secluded and lost area. Around Milan there are many municipalities that are close to the city center. We like this solution because it is the solution for the big clubs. We liked the San Siro solution, which was less expensive because we would have shared the costs, but it would not have given us the sense of identity that the new stadium will give us. So we decided to build the stadium alone in San Donato. It will be a billion-dollar investment, with a portion of equity, about a third of the construction value, and two-thirds of borrowed money. In our plans, the first match will be at the beginning of the 2028-2029 season. So July-August 2028."
Scaroni continued:
"On that land we will have problems with parking and connections because it is a sort of island between two roads, so bridges will be needed to connect it to the rest of the city. We will do commercial activity, so not a shopping mall, there will be restaurants and entertainment activities. It will be a place that will live all year round. There will be matches and other events, such as concerts. It will be a very lively area. There will be large green spaces that will become accessible because they will be connected to the rest of the area around."
