More details have emerged as AC Milan continue their the long journey to build the new stadium in San Donato, a report claims.
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As was confirmed yesterday, Milan has taken an important formal step by presenting to the Council of San Donato Milanese a proposal for an Urban Planning Variation for the area called ‘San Francesco’.
According to Calcio e Finanza, the reasons for choosing the San Donato area are many. Firstly, it is a unique hub of the Milan area between two motorways and with a train station on the site (the subway is also not far away).
There is already an approved integrated plan, which can count on volumes of 108 thousand square metres. The change requested by Milan involves the inclusion of the 70,000 seat stadium where previously an 18-20,000 seat arena was planned.
The area, moreover, is enclosed between two motorways and has little urban value, also making it difficult to regenerate. Milan’s intervention therefore appears to be the only feasible one in this sense.
Finally, let’s not forget a key factor: visibility. The site is located next to the A1 motorway and will become a sort of city gate to the south , the first major construction you will see when arriving from Florence and Rome.
Among the characteristics that pushed the club to focus on the area, there is, as mentioned, the theme of ‘opening’ the gates of the city with the facility. They will try to minimize the impact on local residents and accessibility will be another key issue.
AC Milan are keen to point out that the construction of the plant part will not affect the South Park. The club – with the purchase of 90% of SportLifeCity – has replaced an existing project without changing the volume requests (despite having decidedly higher costs).
The stadium project – which Milan has entrusted to the Manica architecture firm – will be a next step, since the club is currently focused on the urban planning variant. However, it is interesting to note all the collateral activities and buildings present in addition to the new Rossoneri home.
➤ A Milan store
➤ Milan museum
➤ New Milan offices, with new Casa Milan
➤ A hotel
➤ An entertainment centre
➤ Two cycle-pedestrian bridges that will connect the city of San Donato to the South Park
➤ A podium that will support the stadium (Tottenham’s new facility is structured in this way, for example), under which there will be parking (the pitch will instead be at ground level)
➤ Another car park serving the park and stadium
➤ An equipped park within the South Park
➤ An energy center, a renewable energy regeneration center
Compared to the initial idea of the new San Siro, Milan opted in this case for a 70,000 seat stadium, thus also meeting the requests of the fans, who have always been in favour of a capacity close to that of the San Siro.
The facility will be more inclusive and welcoming, with wider bleachers and seats and a top experience also in terms of food and beverage and attention to accessibility for disabled people.
If the project shared with Inter had an estimated cost that had risen to around €1.3bn, Milan will have to commit at least €1bn for the San Donato stadium, even if the phase of defining the investment level is completed subsequently.
Football will be the heart of the project, but the aim is to make the area alive beyond the matches. There will be events, concerts, other sporting events (from American football to rugby), there will be a museum, the hall of fame and a Milan megastore.
Also not to be forgotten is a focus on the health of the players, with all the best technologies and moving to 1,000m² of space dedicated to the changing rooms.
CAA Icon’s Tim Romani clarified some of the questions regarding the timescale that the project is expected to follow.
“The next step is a process whereby the Council of San Donato will review our proposal in the months to come, will present it to the Region and will have the opportunity to review the material, a process that should take approximately 18 months,” he said.
“We expect to be in a position to have a project approved in early 2025 or spring 2025, to start construction in October 2025 and open the stadium in 2028 at the start of the Serie A season.”
