AC Milan Abandons $1.3B Project For New 70,000-Seat Stadium

Serie A giant AC Milan has filed a formal proposal with local officials to construct a new 70,000-seat stadium, a dramatic step away from prior plans to build a new facility on the team’s current site — and one designed to create a much more sustainable future for the club.

AC Milan currently shares Guiseppe Meazza Stadium at San Siro with local rivals Inter Milan. The two clubs previously intended to build a $1.3 billion “Cathedral” project on that site, but ran into a series of political and regulatory issues — most notably a block on the demolition of San Siro. The clubs abandoned the effort earlier this month.

The new proposal involves the development of a new facility in the Milan suburb of San Donato, along with a mixed-use development including a club museum and store, team headquarters, a hotel, and an entertainment district.

“This is a preliminary step in the evolution of this process, but, at the same time, it is further proof of our ownership commitment to guaranteeing continuous growth for AC Milan both on and off the pitch,” said Paolo Scaroni, AC Milan chairman.

Economic Sustainability

The emerging stadium plan is also a sizable step toward economic sustainability within Serie A, which in recent years has been beset by a wide range of facility and financial issues. Earlier this month, AC Milan co-owner Riccardo Silva told FOS that “in Italy, it’s difficult to build anything.”

But last year, U.S.-based private equity firm RedBird Capital purchased AC Milan in a $1.3 billion deal that also involved the New York Yankees and LeBron James, so this new stadium push represents one of the club’s most significant moves since.