Latest on San Siro: Two parts and a deadline [Bonus Article]
What is actually the latest on San Siro? Despite a radio silence of sorts, the project is plugging along.
It feels like there has been a radio silence of sorts since Milan and Inter announced the purchase of the San Siro area. Perhaps that’s just the calm-after-the-storm effect in action, but some information has been seeping through in the last few weeks. So, what is actually the status of the stadium?
Milan and Inter secured the San Siro area, including the Giuseppe Meazza stadium, at the end of November last year. The deed was signed and the first instalment was paid (of a total €197m), though the actual sale was approved by the city council at the start of September. That approval happened late in the night (around 3 am!) and it wasn’t without controversy, but it felt appropriate for the whole saga.
Apart from a few initial interviews right after the matter was completed, the clubs have been rather coy about the status of the project. Granted that we all knew these would be months of planning, not just for the stadium design but also bureaucratic details, I was expecting a little bit more noise. That said, some information is actually out there if you look in the right places.
I think that has been the biggest issue with the San Siro saga ever since the beginning. Concrete updates keep getting drowned out in complicated phrases, subsequently confusing and frustrating the fans, who are then led to believe that nothing is happening. Okay, in fairness, a massive chunk of this saga has indeed been a whole lot of nothing happening, but now they are moving in the right direction.
Short Version
In March, the city council announced the start of the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). It’s a major part of the Implementation Plan, looking at the environmental effects of the project as a whole, i.e. not just the stadium itself. It’s believed that this process could take up to a year.
Once the SEA and the Implementation Plan (framework for the project) have been finalised, the project will be divided into two parts: the first concerns the new stadium and demolition, the second concerns the surrounding area. The first will be subject to the Stadium Law in Italy, which speeds things up a little.
The deadline for construction to start is set for the end of February 2027. If that doesn’t materialise, Milan and Inter will be able to terminate the agreement and get a refund. However, the deadline can also be extended, which is useful if they make good progress albeit without reaching the finish line.
Paolo Scaroni has confirmed that the plan is to unveil the stadium design before the summer, or at least during it. However, this certainly doesn’t mean that the project will be approved by then (it won’t), but getting the design out there in the open can still be a very powerful.
Where the project stands
I have had a proper look at the latest documents published by the city council, in collaboration with the Lombardy region, and what’s clear is that the project entered an important phase at the end of March with the start of the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). In short terms, this is the final major process that needs to be dealt with before the Implementation Plan can be finalised.
It was believed at one point that the Stadium Law in Italy, which aims to accelerate stadium projects (overriding some usual legal requirements), would take precedence and thus minimise the role of the SEA. However, since the SEA is actually an EU directive, it was made clear that there is no way around it. Especially for a project of this size which, in fairness, can have huge environmental effects.
During the SEA, various aspects are analysed regarding the overall impact of the project. In other words, we are not just talking about the stadium structure here, but literally everything that concerns the San Siro area. Questions that help us understand this can be how traffic and air quality will be affected, how the water management should be handled and if the planned greenery is appropriate.
I suppose you could liken it to a residential project. Construction companies tend to evaluate such projects through a broad lens. The features of each house are important, of course, but first of all you need to assess what the entire neighbourhood will be like. That is exactly the purpose of the SEA in San Siro, aiming to conclude whether the Implementation Plan is feasible for the area as a whole.
