It may have a ton of history, but the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza has nearly 100 years of it without much in the way of significant upgrades.
Recently, Milan Mayor Beppe Sala talked to the media about the prospects of both FC Internazionale and AC Milan leaving the San Siro and striking out on their own somewhere else in the city.
Sala said there is a potential for a new stadium for both teams to continue to share.
“With Milan we started the phase of outlining the potential of other spaces to build a new stadium,” he said, according to Calcio Mercato. “This check must be done in short time, then we will decide with the two teams how to proceed.”
Reports are that AC Milan is being a bit more aggressive toward developing a new multi-use stadium.
What would that mean for Inter?
Well, the Nerazzurri have not expressed much interest in developing a new stadium per se. They have discussed developing new training grounds in Milan, but as for a new stadium or even discussing the possibility of leaving the San Siro, there have been no public discussions.
Sala said the city is working with AC Milan first before holding any discussions with Inter Milan ownership about its future.
“We are focused on putting Milan in a place to understand how to build them a new stadium,” he said. “Otherwise it will have to work at the San Siro.”
Discussion over a potential move comes on the heels of Inter officials stating they may have more than 70,000 fans at the San Siro for their Sunday clash with Torino. If that’s the case, it would be the second-largest attended game for Inter this season — the first being the Derby della Madonnina in October. It would also be the second-largest attended game in Serie A since 2010.
There is something to be said about a home field advantage in any sport. The question becomes does Inter have that kind of an advantage at the San Siro?
I think, because you are sharing space, it kind of takes away from that. There are plenty of two-team cities that have separate stadiums with little issue in filling them. Take Manchester, Liverpool and Madrid for example. All of those cities have two teams and don’t have much in the way of an attendance issue.
Now, does Inter or AC Milan need a stadium that sits more than 70,000? No. What would be the best option would be for each team to have their own stadium that seats about 50,000 to 55,000. It would alleviate scheduling issues — as it is very tough for Inter and Milan to play on the same day because they share facilities.
The biggest problem with that is money. It’s no secret that AC Milan has opened the checkbook, especially during the mercato, but investing in a stadium is a different animal. It’s an animal I am not sure Suning is willing to try to handle.
That said, if Inter were to continue its winning ways this season, it may prompt ownership to invest more in the team’s infrastructure.
But, for now, the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza will do.
Forza Inter!