Italy's Heritage Authority Reportedly Do Not Object To The Demolition Of The San Siro

Reuters are reporting that Italy's Heritage Authority have not raised any objections on the tearing down of the historic San Siro stadium. AC Milan and Inter Milan have shared the stadium for seven decades but Milan have been occupants of the stadium for almost a century. The move to demolish the iconic football stadium comes down to the desire of the two clubs Milan (owned by Elliot) and Inter (owned by Suning) to construct a modern 60,000-seater stadium so as to boost revenues. The stadium is now considered to be the central element of a wider 12. billion euro investment into the real estate development plan for the district.

The approval is an important step forward to getting the project off the ground after months of negotiations and amendments to the proposed development projects. The two clubs just this month presented updated plans for the entire site that included the preservation of part of the San Siro and the addition of public use sport facilities as we reported here. It does seem rather absurd for the lack of respect afforded to the stadium after being at the pinnacle of world football for so long. The stadium is not referred to as 'La Scala del Calcio’ lightly, it hosted two of the most historic clubs as well as the Italian national team for years. It has hosted legends and fans to become one of the most recognisable aspects of Calcio with it's pillars and it's stunning rust-red steel work.

Additionally, Mayor Sala via Calcio Mercato commented stating “This is, at present, an architectural artefact in which the persistence of the original stadium of 1925-26 and the expansion of 1937-39 are completely residual with respect to the subsequent adaptation works carried out in the second half of the twentieth century and therefore not subject to the provisions because they do not go back more than 70 years. The stratifications, adjustments and extensions make the stadium a work in continuous transformation based on the needs related to public use and safety and to the various regulatory adjustments specific to the destination as an arena football and public entertainment.”