The AC Milan president, Paolo Scaroni, spoke during the RCS Sport Industry Talk.
Here are his words:
On the first Milan derby as co-owners of San Siro:
“The Milan Derby is unique in the world, you see friends and relatives walk toward the stadium wearing Inter and Milan shirts, this makes the event special and explains the great atmosphere. When I try to understand why Milan and Inter, off the pitch, followed a tough path yet always in full agreement, I think of Milano. When I go to the derby I see families or groups where one wears red and black and the other wears black and blue, walking together. I credit this to the city, it turns on-field rivalry into friendly behavior off the pitch. The city builds a positive environment, which allowed us to deliver the stadium project.”
On the new stadium:
“We must reproduce the best feature of San Siro, the way you watch matches. I am critical of the Meazza, I have always considered it old, but it has one strength, matches are easy to watch. In the new stadium the view will be better, the structure will be more vertical and closer to the pitch. It will work every day, we will move past the issue of an area crowded on matchdays and empty on others. It will live daily, like the major stadiums of Real Madrid or in England. It will be more comfortable and accessible for everyone, it will offer higher matchday revenue without raising popular ticket prices. It will turn the San Siro area into a new chapter for the city, a green and modern district," as relayed via Milan News.
On San Siro:
"I have seen a change in public opinion on the Meazza over the years. Before, when I said it was old and ugly, everyone replied that it was beautiful. After watching stadiums in Qatar, Germany and in the Champions League, the mood shifted, and this was decisive in convincing the municipality. We will not demolish everything, but I am sure that once we have the most beautiful stadium in the world next to it, no one will think about the Meazza anymore. Things evolve, the new structure will make the old one lose much of its charm, not its nostalgia, but its charm, yes."
On RedBird:
“I understood that American sport is viewed more as entertainment than pure competition. For us, owners and club, the only thing that matters is winning matches, everything else is secondary. RedBird’s mission is sport, it invests in sport worldwide and provides expertise we would never have. This gives us strong support for the stadium project, our shareholder has taken part in building dozens of stadiums around the world and guides our choices. At Casa Milan we do not build stadiums every year, for them it is routine, for us it is a major event. RedBird has also invested more than 250 million in the transfer market over the last two years and closed three profitable balance sheets, proving you can invest, earn profits and develop a major stadium project. This shows the shareholder’s ability and long-term vision.”
On reforms in Italian football:
“There are many reforms needed. Each time Parliament and politics step into football they create problems instead of solving them. We cannot advertise betting companies, yet even a small share from the sector would be enough for us, this rule costs us 100 million per year. We finally have a good anti-piracy law, but if it is not enforced strictly it is useless, we lose 300 million there. Money is the tool that allows us to do everything, including giving young talents the chance to train without paying 90 euros per month. During Covid nobody wanted to deal with football, while all other sectors received help. If sport is a constitutional right, we cannot move in the opposite direction when these issues are discussed.”
