The Mayor of San Donato Francesco Squeri has given the latest on AC Milan’s pursuit of a new stadium and he also claimed that one of the two Milanese clubs will remain at San Siro.
Milan have shifted the idea of renovating San Siro to moving to San Donato with the latter idea gaining a lot of momentum this season in particular, as land was purchased and the Program Agreement process began.
Indeed the Rossoneri have consistently repeated that the plan is to move to a new home, and the project is coming along nicely with the stadium and surrounding areas.
Gerry Cardinale has persistently stated his desire to replicate what other sports heavyweights have done when the club move to a state of the art home, which has shops, a museum, a hotel and other amenities.
Now, Mayor Squeri has spoken on the Alanews YouTube and Twitch broadcast entitled ‘Newzgen’ and he gave various updates on where the new stadium project stands, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.
On the process for the stadium…
“Sport Life City had presented an arena project approved by the previous administration. At the beginning of May I sent the letters for the program agreement to the Lombardy Region, the State Railways and the Metropolitan City, which presumably should respond by expressing their availability.
“At that point a process required by law will begin which will last approximately 18 months. in which all the works to be faced will be examined.”
On the cost-benefit ratio…
“There is no doubt that the construction of a stadium could cause inconvenience for citizens, but this administration is committed to ensuring that the benefits are infinitely greater than the disadvantages and in this year and a half we will try to tell the citizens about them.
“Let’s just think about the possibility of having a real railway station, with enlarged platforms, more rails, even high-speed trains that can stop in San Donato.”
On the opportunity for the city of San Donato…
“Modern stadiums welcome people, offer events to remember, somewhat in American style, we must forget those of the past. The stadium, if done in a certain way, can be a great opportunity for the city, but I would like to reiterate that it is not mandatory to do so in San Donato Milanese.
“Surely, however, there would be great benefits, especially for young people who would have more spaces for getting together and meeting.”
On the decision to leave San Siro…
“As a passionate AC Milan fan, therefore not as mayor, I am convinced that, to remain competitive in modern football, the two teams will no longer play together in the same stadium: in my opinion one team will remain at San Siro, while the other will go to another facility, I don’t know if to Rozzano or San Donato.
“It’s just my feeling, I haven’t talked about it with anyone from the club, but if it’s true that WeBuild will present a project to renovate the facility guaranteeing the participation of some of the fans and Mayor Sala, compared to the past, is broadening the opportunities to set up activities such as museums and stores near the stadium is certainly no small thing. Personally, it seems strange to me that the two clubs can play within the same facility.”
On his professional relationship with Milan…
“As an administration, our technical office has always interfaced with Sport Life City; I only met CEO Giorgio Furlani once. I am convinced that dialogue with Sport Life City is correct, once the project moves to an implementation phase our office will certainly communicate with the club’s leaders.
“The fact of not speaking directly with the Rossoneri management does not move the needle of probability. Who would I want on the Milan bench in the first match in the new stadium? Carlo Ancelotti.”
So… In 18 months, then we will know IF we can start the 5-years-long construction phase?
Oh boy …
Welcome to Italy. But actually construction can be done much quicker than five years
Do you think Italians build stadiums with bare hands haha Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas needed three years and SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles needed four years, and they don’t have real estate and a theme park. Unless you’re in China it takes time to build such infrastructures and I wouldn’t want the stadium to crumble while I’m inside because we rushed its construction.
There’s progress, as opposed to San Siro. The reality is that Milan needs its own stadium…We hope for a smoother process with less bureaucratic bungles going forward…