Paolo Scaroni, president of the AC Milan club, spoke at the "Festival dello Sport 2023" organized in Trento by La Gazzetta dello Sport and made the following statements:
On the new stadium:
"I've been talking about stadiums for 4-5 years now, on social media they call me 'Paolo Stadioni'. We have found a solution that we like, it's an unused area for other purposes, but very interesting for a stadium. We have submitted a request to modify the regulatory area plan. San Donato is not far from the centre of Milan; we are still within the metropolitan area of Milan. At Milan, we have RedBird, which is a super specialist in stadium construction. We have an obligation to make the stadium as beautiful as possible, even for our fantastic fans. It will have 70 thousand seats because in recent years we have had an average of 70 thousand spectators, even in non-prestigious matches. We will not create a shopping center, but a commercial area linked to sports. Of course, there will be restaurants. We want to create a lively area throughout the year. This is happening all over Europe. We are doing with a 20-year delay what other countries like France, Germany, and Spain have already done. We need a stadium that allows us to be competitive with other European teams. I hope to start the 2028-2029 season in the new stadium", declared scaroni.
On the profitable budget:
"I became president of Milan in July 2018. That year we lost 200 million euros. There are two mountains to climb: the economic and sports results. These are two connected things that must be done together."
Scaroni continued:
"We have managed to climb these mountains: we won a league title, reached the Champions League semifinals, and now we are in first place. From an economic point of view, we have doubled our revenues and closed the 2023 budget with a profit. Without economic sustainability, there cannot be sports sustainability."
On the objectives, Scaroni said:
"We want to win every game, but as a minimum objective, we want to be in the Champions League because we have to think about our 400 million fans worldwide who watch the Champions League. That's for Milan. As for the League and collective goals, we are behind when it comes to international TV rights. The Premier League earns 2.2 billion from international TV rights, while we (Serie A) earn 200 million. As long as there is this gap, many of the things we aspire to become impossible. Reaching where the Premier League has reached is very difficult, but it remains a key goal for the future of our League."
