Yahoo Sports Mayor Sala explains San Siro situation in details during long speech at Council meeting
The Mayor of Milan Giuseppe Sala has given a long speech providing an update on the stadium situation concerning AC Milan, Inter and San Siro.
Sala was present at the City Council meeting which took place yesterday from 16:30 CET and among the main points on the agenda to be discussed was the issue of the future of San Siro.
The latest is that Inter and Milan have presented an expression of interest regarding buying the current stadium and plot of land surrounding it, after learning the price tag set by the Revenue Agency.
There is still uncertainty despite this concrete step, because the expression of interest from the two clubs is not binding and leaves other options open, especially the San Donato one for the Rossoneri.
The issue of infrastructure was the number one topic and the words from the Mayor – who received significant boos from the citizens present – were relayed by Calciomercato.com.
“The future of the San Siro stadium has unfortunately become an extremely divisive issue in recent years, which has led to a clash between opposing blocs with a fair amount of political opportunism on the part of some,” he said.
“I have always been aware that in my role as mayor I would have to bear this cross, since we are in the most uncomfortable position possible because it is a problem that none of us went looking for, because it is an issue governed by more emotional than rational reasons, because the interlocutors are reliable but have a relative connection with the city.
More Stories about San Siro
Tuttosport: ‘San Siro or San Donato?’ – the current state of Milan’s stadium plans
GdS: Milan and Inter send non-binding expression of interest over San Siro – the details
GdS: Milan and Inter learn price to buy San Siro – what filters out from the two clubs
“At this point, I think and hope that the citizens of Milan are not interested in witnessing clashes between ideological factions, but that they want a pragmatic solution from Milanese politics that guarantees that Inter and Milan remain to play in the San Siro area.
“Because that is where the history of Milanese football is, because they are used to going there. I believe that the Milanese want this and the Milanese will judge us on this. Guaranteeing that the teams remain in the San Siro area means not having prejudices out of prejudice, but focusing on how to obtain the best possible result given the factual reality of things.
“Not having approached this situation lightly, all my reflections start from the factual reality. In my opinion, the factual reality of things is that Inter and Milan are now interested in purchasing the stadium and the surrounding area to build a new stadium with a commercial and sports district that surrounds it and that makes the overall project economically sustainable. This is the factual reality of things.
“It matters relatively, given the obvious efforts we have made from the beginning to convince the two clubs to renovate the current stadium. But if being involved in politics means endlessly relaunching one’s ideas without worrying about their feasibility, personally this is not the style I wanted to adopt in this role.
“Our task now is to ensure that the operation that is being planned is geared towards pursuing the public interest that must deal with the economic sustainability of those who own the two Milanese teams.
“I return to the topic of the stadium renovation. The board has invited us to insist on this path, but unfortunately, as everyone has seen, it has not found any real interest from the clubs. I would like to be clear: the stadium issue is complex also and above all because the teams are particular operators, who act under a monopoly regime.
“If the teams do not want to renovate, we cannot force them to do so. We can try, but it is not a given that we will succeed. The fact that we cannot force them to do something they are not convinced of was well understood last year when the superintendency expressed itself in favor of a cultural constraint on some elements of the structure.
“I remind everyone how the teams reacted, with the intention of leaving and opening proceedings in other areas such as San Donato and Rozzano. It is objectively critical to think of San Siro without the two teams: furthermore, from an urban and environmental point of view, it makes much more sense to keep the stadium in an already urbanised area rather than building two new stadiums in areas that are essentially green and in need of development.
“Unless some of you can imagine that if we were to build a wall, the two clubs would give up on building one or two stadiums elsewhere. I say more, I make a mistake when I say one or two stadiums: the two teams have never expressed the desire to be in a single stadium other than San Siro. Inter has not given its availability in San Donato nor Milan in Rozzano. So either the stadium in San Siro or two stadiums in areas that are essentially green.
“We arrive at last September, when the clubs told us that they were not interested in the WeBuild hypothesis, while at the same time expressing their interest in purchasing the facility and the area. Not surface rights, but a purchase.
“We therefore started discussions with the Revenue Agency to obtain an economic evaluation. The evaluation was notified to us at 197 million euros. We spoke with the Ministry of Culture and the Superintendency to understand the hypotheses on the constraint that will come into force at 70 years, that is, in October 2025.
“In a meeting held in Rome, the prospect of an intervention with partial demolition and re-functionalisation of the current facility was substantially shared, a good compromise in my opinion. Not wanting to start such a complex and delicate procedure, we set as a condition that they publicly confirm to us that they would immediately resume the discussion and that they would commit to a defined path.
“The teams presented an expression of interest in continuing the procedure started in 2019 and proceeding with the purchase of the area. Here we are today, when with our offices we are hypothesising a conclusion of the sales process by the summer of 2025.
“Concretely, however, by the first quarter of 2025 we must receive a purchase offer from the teams accompanied by a technical and financial plan. I am waiting for these documents, because in these years we have faced a path that is anything but linear.
“I hope that we have reached a shared and defined solution. A solution that above all looks to the public good and balances it with the interests of the teams. It must be seen as an opportunity to also distribute resources in the city of Milan and bring improvements to the lives of Milanese citizens.
“Why is selling better than surface rights? I ask to think about what is the best solution for the use of these funds, which I suggest be aimed at the development of the neighbourhood and the most disadvantaged groups of citizens. I go further by hoping that a proposal for the destination of these funds comes from the city council of Milan.”
