Should Milan buy San Siro? [Bonus Article]

Following a statement that was published by the city council on Friday, there has been a lot of talk about AC Milan and Inter potentially buying San Siro. Although the Rossoneri’s words were twisted by the council, it did pose us with an interesting question: should the clubs buy San Siro regardless of whether or not they will actually stay at the stadium?

The first instinct certainly says no; there is no use in investing significant money in a stadium that you will leave a few years later. On the other hand, buying San Siro could increase the revenue opportunities for the clubs in the time they have left. Not to mention that they wouldn’t have to pay rent to the city council. At the very least, this idea warrants examining how that might look in practice.

Just to be clear, however, Milan have already spent a decent amount of money on the San Donato project and this remains their first choice on the stadium front. The renovation and takeover hypothesis for San Siro, meanwhile, is simply being kept alive by the Rossoneri as it would be poor business to do otherwise. As in, there is no harm in evaluating the options on the table before making a definitive decision.

In any case, let’s take a look at the agreement that ties both Milan and Inter to San Siro at the present day, how much that costs them and what the revenue looks like. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist - which you will see - to understand why the clubs are crying out for a new stadium.