FOR football fans, San Siro is a name that captures the imagination, a massive, brutal stadium that has always been bold, iconic and full of vitality. Some might turn their nose up at the expanse of concrete, the Meccano-like structure and the greyness, but both inside and outside, the home of the two Milan clubs is eye-catching, imposing and demands respect.

San Siro can be catalogued alongside the great names of European football history: the Nep, the Prater, the Bernabéu, the Camp Nou, Old Trafford and the Allianz Arena. It was the most dramatic council house in the world, a stadium built for the city of Milan’s two football clubs. But it will soon be no more, for after years of speculation and incessant talking, AC Milan and Inter are set to have a new home.

Naturally, there are plenty of people who don’t want to see the back of San Siro; fans have been protesting, claiming “You will never extinguish the lights at San Siro,” but it is going to happen because it simply has to.

Milan and Inter were once at the very top of Europe’s football tree. As well as 40 Serie A title wins between them, they have also won 10 European Cups/Champions Leagues. A decade ago, they were both a shadow of their former selves, but they have recovered, on and off the pitch, and both have claimed the Scudetto in recent years. Inter won their third in six seasons in 2025-26, Milan’s last title was in 2022.

While their resurgence has been welcomed, Italian football is not as healthy as it once was and its top clubs are trailing behind the big names from the Premier League and La Liga. Closing the gap between these leagues and Serie A’s leaders is one of the reasons why the Milan duo need a stadium that can grow revenues and become a catalyst for economic growth and urban regeneration in the surrounding area.

San Siro was bought from the city of Milan in 2025 by Milan and Inter for € 197 million, but very few Italian clubs enjoy the benefits of owning their own stadium. This is a competitive disadvantage as it restricts the amount of money that can be generated from matchdays and commercial activity. Real Madrid, for example, were once a peer of the Milan clubs, but their matchday income dwarfs the combined amount reported by Milan and Inter. In 2024-25, Real’s earnings from matchday totalled € 363 million, more than double the Milanese € 173 million. The importance of leveraging the enormous support enjoyed by both clubs cannot be underestimated as Italian football’s broadcasting deals lag behind the top three leagues in Europe (England, Germany, Spain).

Building a new stadium will not only create a state-of-the-art ground, it will also deliver the potential to stage events other than football. The capacity of the Generali Stadium will be 71,000 but 12,000 seats will be allocated to the lucrative stream of hospitality. Although from a distance the San Siro is spectacular, the infrastructure is somewhat outdated and parts of the arena are dysfunctional. Visitors to the ground have often complained about filthy seats and some facilities (notably toilets) being out of action.

The cost of the Generali will be around € 1.2 billion, representing a cost per seat of € 16,800. But if all goes as planned, the clubs will benefit from a stadium naming deal that is arguably the biggest deal of its kind in world sport. Generali have agreed to pay € 650 million for a transaction that will run to 2052. Construction is set to start in 2028 and the ground will open in 2031 and could be included in the venues for the Italy/Turkey-hosted Euro 2032.

Stadium experts have questioned the necessity for Milan and Inter to continue sharing a home ground, but in many ways, this arrangement is part of the culture of both clubs, the city and indeed, Italian football.

There is still some way to go, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel for a project that has been running for some years. What could delay it? Bureaucracy, always an issue in Italian public administration, may get in the way, but mostly, the clubs will be hoping that the country’s economy does not derail the process – sluggish growth is a fact of life in Europe at the moment and Italy is no exception. Milan is an important part of the economy and generates around 20% of the national GDP and football contributed € 227 million of real economic activity in 2025-26. An important cultural pursuit in an important city.

Photo: Zach Rowlandson, via Unsplash.