San Siro

History

Construction of the stadium commenced in 1925 in the district of Milan named San Siro, with the new stadium originally named Nuovo Stadio Calcistico San Siro (San Siro New Football Stadium). The idea to build a stadium in the same district as the horse racing track belonged to the president of AC Milan at the time, Piero Pirelli. The architects designed a private stadium only for football, without athletics tracks which characterised Italian stadiums built with public funds. The design took inspiration from English football stadiums with four separated stands. The inauguration was on 19 September 1926, when 35,000 spectators saw Inter defeat Milan 6–3. Originally, the ground was home and property of Milan, then acquired by the City Council in the 1930s, where a capacity expansion of seats was developed connecting already-existing four stands in the corners. This historic setting was then called as the first tier. Finally, in 1947, Inter, who used to play in the Arena Civica downtown, became tenants and the two have shared the ground ever since.

From 1948 to 1955 engineers Armando Ronca and Ferruccio Calzolari developed the project for the second extension of the stadium, which was meant to increase the capacity from 50,000 to 150,000 visitors. Calzolari and Ronca proposed three additional, vertically arranged, rings of spectator rows. Nineteen spiralling ramps – each 200 metres long – gave access to the upper tiers, popularly called "the second ring". During construction, the realisation of the highest of the three tiers was abandoned and the number of visitors limited to 100,000. Then for security reasons, the capacity was reduced to 60,000 seats and 25,000 standing.

On 2 March 1980 the stadium was named for Giuseppe Meazza (1910–1979), one of the most famous Milanese footballers. For a time, Inter fans called the stadium Stadio Meazza due to Meazza's stronger connections with Inter (14 years as a player, three stints as manager). However, in recent years both Inter and Milan fans have called the stadium simply San Siro.

The last major renovation for the San Siro, which cost $60 million, took place between 1987 and 1990, for the 1990 FIFA World Cup. It was decided to modernise the stadium by increasing its capacity to 85,000 spectators and building a cover. The Municipality of Milan entrusted the work to the architects Giancarlo Ragazzi and Enrico Hoffer, and to the engineer Leo Finzi. To increase capacity, a third tier was built (only on three of the four sides, in the two curves and in the west grandstand) which rests on eleven support towers surrounded by helical ramps that allow access to the public. Four of these eleven concrete towers were located at the corners to additionally support a new roof, which has distinctive protruding red girders.

In 1996, a museum was opened inside the stadium charting Milan and Internazionale's history, with historical shirts, cups and trophies, shoes, art objects and souvenirs of all kinds on display to visitors.

Three Milan derby Champions League knockout ties have taken place at the San Siro, in 2003, 2005 and 2023 with Milan winning the first of two ties with the latter being won by Inter Milan. The reaction of Inter's fans to impending defeat in the 2005 second leg (throwing flares and other objects at Milan players and forcing the match to be abandoned) earned the club a large fine and a four-game ban on spectators attending European fixtures there the following season.

Apart from being used by Milan and Inter, the Italy national team occasionally plays matches there. It has also been used for the European Cup finals of 1965 (won by Inter), 1970 (won by Feyenoord), and the UEFA Champions League finals of 2001 (won by Bayern Munich) and 2016 (won by Real Madrid).

The stadium was also used for the home leg of three UEFA Cup finals in which Inter was competing (1991, 1994, 1997) when these were played over two legs. It was also used by Juventus for their 'home' leg in 1995 as they decided against playing their biggest matches at their own Stadio delle Alpi at the time. On each occasion, apart from 1991, the second leg was played at the San Siro and the winners lifted the trophy there. However, the stadium has not yet been selected as the host stadium since the competition changed to a single-match final format in 1997–98.

The San Siro has never hosted a final of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, but was the host stadium for the 1951 Latin Cup, a four-team event won by Milan. The city was also the venue for the 1956 edition of the Latin Cup (also won by Milan), but those matches were played at Arena Civica.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy on 25 March, the Associated Press dubbed the UEFA Champions League match between Bergamo club Atalanta and Spanish club Valencia at the San Siro on 19 February as "Game Zero". The match was the first time Atalanta has progressed to a Champions League round of 16 match, and had an attendance of over 40,000 people – about one third of Bergamo's population. By 24 March, almost 7,000 people in the province of Bergamo had tested positive for COVID-19, and more than 1,000 people had died from the virus—making Bergamo the most hard-hit province in all of Italy during the pandemic.

Potential replacement

Milan and Internazionale announced their intention in June 2019 to build a new stadium to replace the San Siro. The new 60,000 capacity stadium, which would be constructed next to the San Siro, was initially anticipated to cost US$800 million and be ready for the 2022–23 season, although this did not come to pass.

Giuseppe Sala, the current Mayor of Milan, and the comune of Milan asked for time and stressed that the San Siro would be kept until at least the 2026 Winter Olympics and Winter Paralympics to be held in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo. The proposed project was also met with some skepticism and opposition by several fans of both teams.

On 26 September 2019, Milan and Internazionale released two potential designs for the new stadium next to the original ground, tentatively named the Nuovo Stadio Milano, designed by Populous and MANICA, respectively. On 22 May 2020, Italy's heritage authority raised no objections to demolish the San Siro. On 21 December 2021, the Populous project was chosen. Despite the previous decision, given the historic relevance of architecture solutions in public buildings for the realization of the second ring in 1955, being the stadium owned by the City Council and according to the Italian law the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities stated that the San Siro stadium could not be demolished after 70 years from its construction. The City Council of Milan attempted to revert this decision in court appeal but failing to pursue the aim due to refusal of the appeal itself. The due date is set to be on 10th November 2025, after that the stadium will be constrained and the City Council must preserve the whole building. To comply with this rule, several projects were presented in parallel to refurbish and modernise the San Siro. Aceti proposed the reconversion of the third ring through the replacement of the concrete stand with an iconic panoramic walk with restaurants, rooms and playgrounds. The JMA Architecture Studio proposed a complete removal of the third ring - the newer and not subjected by public interest and relevance - with the realization of a new covering and VIP boxes between the two older stands, plus extra VIP seats closer to the pitch. The third project was unveiled by Arco Associati & Giulio Fenyves with the complete preservation of the building but at the same time realizing VIP boxes between the first and second rings, being renamed as "the fourth ring". The project presented also the realization of a wide commercial and fanzone area surrounding the whole stadium with food&beverage shops, stores and commercial and corporate offices, also for both football clubs, thus constituting a sort of gate - or "foyer" to recall the theatre-inspired nickname of the stadium from La Scala theater.

On 27 September 2023, Milan chairman Paolo Scaroni announced the club had filed a proposal to build a new 70,000-seater stadium, alongside the club headquarters and museum in the comune of San Donato Milanese, a suburb south of Milan, though this project was suspended. A recent pronunciation of the regional administrative court on 24 September 2025 rejected the possibility to build a stadium in the aforementioned areas to AC Milan.

In September 2025, the Milan City Council discussed a proposal to sell the stadium and its surrounding area to AC Milan and Internazionale, with both clubs planning to build a replacement on the site. The new stadium is set to be a 71,500-seat facility as part of an associated mixed-use development and will cost around €1.25 billion. The City Council claimed the unsustainable rise in management and facility costs for ordinary maintenance to motivate the selling, together with UEFA's decision to exclude the San Siro from potential venues to host international matches (such as the Champions League finals match or UEFA Euro 2032) due to requirements not being reached. The proposal was approved by the House of City Council on 30th September 2025. Once the stadium is sold to private companies, the constraint for architectural relevance on the second ring will not be applicable, being privately owned and no longer held by a public entity. On 24 September 2025, both AC Milan and Internazionale announced an agreement with Foster and Partners and Manica for the realisation of the design for the new stadium.

In October 2025, a rendering of the new stadium was revealed. Unlike San Siro, the new stadium is expected to be oval shaped, and lack the iconic red beams. The roof will be fixed and translucent, allowing for sunlight and climate control. AC Milan and Internazionale will continue to play in San Siro until the new stadium is ready, after which a majority of the stadium will be demolished in 2031 or 2032, with part of it retained for a commercial and entertainment area, including a possible museum. Milan stated that the new stadium would be ready by 2030 at the earliest. In November 2025, AC Milan and Internazionale acquired both the stadium and the surrounding land for €197 million.

International football matches

Italy national team

1934 FIFA World Cup

The stadium was one of the biggest venues of the 1934 FIFA World Cup and held three matches.

UEFA Euro 1980

The stadium was one of the four selected to host the matches during the UEFA Euro 1980.

1990 FIFA World Cup

The stadium was one of the venues of the 1990 FIFA World Cup and held six matches.

2021 UEFA Nations League Finals

The stadium was one of two selected to host the 2021 UEFA Nations League Finals matches.

Other sports

2026 Winter Olympics

San Siro is scheduled to host the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics co-hosted by Milan.

Boxing

San Siro was the venue for the boxing match between Duilio Loi vs. Carlos Ortiz for the Junior Welterweight title in 1960.

Rugby union

The first rugby union international game at Meazza Stadium was a 1987-89 FIRA European Championship match between Italy and Romania (which won the match 12-3), attended by a crowd of approx. . 21 years later, in November 2009, the venue hosted a test match between Italy and New Zealand. Without the limitation to approx. imposed for security reasons by the Home Office to association football events, tickets were sold, which was one of the highest attendances for the venue and more generally the highest at all for a rugby union event in Italy. The All Blacks won 20-6.

Concerts

Since the 1980s, the stadium has hosted concerts by several major international artists. The first ever to perform there was Bob Marley on 27 June 1980, during the Uprising Tour. Afterwards it had the opportunity to host Bob Dylan and Santana in 1984, Bruce Springsteen in 1985, Genesis, Duran Duran and David Bowie in 1987, Michael Jackson in 1997, and in more recent times, the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2004, U2 in 2005 and 2009, The Rolling Stones in 2006 and 2022, Madonna in 2009 and 2012, Depeche Mode in 2009, 2013, 2017 and 2023, Muse in 2010, 2019, and 2023, Bon Jovi in 2013, One Direction in 2014, Pearl Jam in 2014, Beyoncé in 2016, Coldplay in 2017 and 2023, Ed Sheeran in 2019, and Elton John in 2022 and Taylor Swift in 2024. Italian singer-songwriter Elisa performed at the stadium in 2025.

Edoardo Bennato was the first Italian artist to perform and sell out the stadium in July 1980. In 2007, Laura Pausini became the first female artist to perform at the stadium and also held two consecutive concerts on 4 and 5 June 2016.

Vasco Rossi, is the artist who holds the record for largest number of performances on the stadium, with 29 concerts between 1990 and 2019, followed by Luciano Ligabue with 13 concerts. Vasco Rossi also holds the record for consecutive concerts with six shows between 1 and 12 June 2019.

The international artist with the most performances at San Siro is Bruce Springsteen, with seven concerts as of 2024.

Transport connections

The stadium is located in the northwestern part of Milan and can be reached by underground via the dedicated San Siro subway station (at the end of line M5), located just in front of the stadium, or by tram, with line 16 ending right in front of the building. The Lotto subway station (line M1 and line M5) is about 15 minutes walk away from San Siro.

Stations nearby:

Average attendances

!Tenants!!Serie A season!!Home games!!Average attendance |- | AC Milan || 2023-24 || 19 || 72,008 |- | Inter Milan || 2023-24 || 19 || 72,838 |- | AC Milan || 2022-23 || 19 || 71,828 |- | Inter Milan || 2022-23 || 19 || 72,630 |- |} }}

References

References

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