AC Milan president Paolo Scaroni made statements regarding the club’s new stadium in the San Siro area, which is shared with Inter, during the event 'Infrastructure and Sport: A Wealth for the Country' ('Infrastrutture e Sport: una ricchezza per il Paese') organized by PWC in collaboration with Calcio e Finanza. The specialized portal then reported the executive's words.
"I’m a veteran of the stadium issue—I’ve been dealing with it since 2018, and on social media, they even call me ‘Stadioni.’ This isn’t the time for controversy, but I’ve been part of a game of the goose: for the San Siro project, we’ve gone back to the initial plan, which evidently wasn’t so unlikely after all. A new stadium in that area? There are several reasons, which we have already discussed in the recent past, but since we are addressing an audience mainly focused on business, I’ll tell you that one of them is certainly the financial aspect: this way, the numbers add up. We submitted the Docfap last Tuesday, and the Municipality should acknowledge it, initiate an assignment procedure, and convene an initial service conference. I hope this happens soon because we have a deadline related to a restriction, and that would complicate things. The plan is to purchase the stadium and the surrounding areas by the summer, so we are optimistic."
On the lack of renovation, Scaroni said:
"What sense does it make to renovate a stadium when two teams play so frequently? Imagine 70,000 people entering a construction site every three days—it’s nonsense, I can’t even listen to that idea. Just think about what could have happened. When we started the San Siro project, everyone reminded us how wonderful it was, but over time, it became clear that, despite offering a great view of the matches, the needs have changed. And in the new stadium, we’ll have an even better view, plus many other features. There has been an evolution in thinking, even though we are a nation of conservatives. When there’s no match, the San Siro area is empty. But in a conservative country like ours, even logical changes are seen as an affront. Despite all this, we also see renewed support from the Municipality—the mayor is a big supporter of the project. We’ve taken a key step with the Superintendency, and with it, many other steps forward."
Scaroni concluded:
"The great thing about Milan and Inter is that both can count on a full stadium and have similar needs. When it comes to premium areas, if there’s one city in Italy that can tap into a pool of individuals and businesses willing to pay significant sums, it’s Milan. I’ve seen how things work in many countries, from Europe to the U.S.: at major sporting events, a top law firm is willing to pay because that’s where they find clients. Milan, on a smaller scale, mirrors the model of New York, London, or other cities of that size. I believe that out of the 71,000 spectators we anticipate for the new stadium, around 9,000 will be corporate seats, which we will sell to companies. This is an activity that is currently impossible—just think, we can’t even cook anything, only ‘reheat’ food, while other stadiums have their own breweries inside. We have a huge road ahead for the new stadium, and we will walk it."
