AC Milan and Inter recently presented a new project for the new stadium, which was needed for the public debate, and it revealed that it will be smaller than San Siro. Paolo Scaaroni has now explained this decision.
Many fans raised questions over the capacity as the first details emerged, seeing as Milan have had very good attendance this season (almost sold out every game). San Siro has a capacity of slightly less than 80k but the new stadium will have 70k at most.
Speaking to Gulf News, Scaroni shared his thoughts on Milan’s current training camp in Dubai but also the stadium issue back in Italy. He stated that they want a modern and efficient solution, hence the reduced capacity.
“AC Milan is here because we have lots of fans here and also we have Emirates here which is our shirt sponsor and has been with us since 2007. So Dubai is very important for us.
“People love football in the UAE and here we have lots of fans of the club and we want to be part of this great love we feel. I spend a lot of time taking selfies with people that I don’t know which means they recognize the chairman of AC Milan!
“We never reach the 80,000 capacity of San Siro – the maximum we have is 75,000 people there. So the new stadium will be close to 70,000 because we want the stadium to be full and we want it to be very efficient so the idea is to reduce capacity a little.
“We can’t renovate San Siro because with two teams playing there – both of them in the Champions League – there are too many fixtures to consider. Also, the stadium would require major refurbishment and this would be very difficult. There is no stadium with a decent capacity close to Milan that we can use while renovating San Siro. That is the reason why we need a new stadium.
“Having a modern stadium is essential for the growth and evolution of the club. We need to bridge the gap between Serie A and the major leagues in Europe, first of all the Premier League, where stadium revenues represent one of the main growth factors in recent years,” he concluded.
The corporate capacity is also expected to increase, meaning there will be even less availability tickets-wise for the fans. The revenue, on the other hand, will increase a lot and will not only allow Milan to maintain reasonable ticket prices, but also to invest in the team.
San Siro is full now, but revenue are too small in serie A playing VS Monza, compared when Milan played against Chelsea in CL. So less seats can generate bigger ticket price in serie a also.
I was there for a sell out game this year. There were sections covered with tarps they weren’t even using.
Because the old relic is falling apart. I’m sure next year the capacity of San Siro will be reduced again due to “tremors”.
OK, fine. Make it a 69,5k seater then. =)
Better still, 69.985 seats 😂