Milan and Inter Unveil 71,500-Seat Generali Stadium to Replace San Siro
Seven Lights
AC Milan and Internazionale unveiled plans Thursday for a new shared stadium to replace San Siro, to be named the Generali Stadium after a record naming-rights partnership with Italy’s largest insurance company. The ground will hold 71,500 spectators, cost the two clubs about €1.2 billion and open from the 2031-32 season, the Guardian and CBS Sports reported.
The plans were revealed at a gala at Milan’s Castello Sforzesco, where some fans in attendance voiced opposition to the demolition of the 1926 stadium, also known as the Giuseppe Meazza and the largest sports stadium in Italy. Yahoo Sports reported the naming-rights deal as a record €650 million partnership, a signal of the money now moving through Serie A.
The stadium, designed by the architects Norman Foster and David Manica, will be built on the San Siro site. It is shaped, Foster said, “low in the body, and rises up at either end” behind the goals, with steep-sided stands intended to bring supporters close to the pitch. “The most important thing that we realised when we designed this project is that San Siro is a feeling,” Manica said. “They could not be any closer, it’ll actually feel as though you’re sitting on the grass.”
The clubs paid €197 million to acquire the current stadium and its adjacent parking areas. The new arena is designed to host NFL international games, rugby matches and concerts as well as football, and could serve as a venue for Euro 2032, which Italy and Turkey will jointly host. Foster + Partners previously worked on the new Wembley Stadium and the plans for Manchester United’s proposed 100,000-seat ground.
The two clubs still share the Giuseppe Meazza, opened in 1926 and the largest sports stadium in Italy. Its demolition has drawn resistance: Inter supporters protested the plans outside Thursday’s gala, the Guardian reported, and the naming of the replacement for a ground Milanese fans treat as a landmark gave the opposition fresh cause on the night of the unveiling.
Construction and demolition remain subject to permits. The clubs’ timetable places the first match in the new house six seasons away.