Yahoo Sports ‘San Donato has become Plan B’ – Scaroni contradicts previous words on Milan stadium issue
AC Milan president Paolo Scaroni has done a U-turn on previous comments, now claiming that a ‘new San Siro’ stadium is the main plan.
The best thing you can do to get instantly up to speed on the stadium issue is read our most recent Substack bonus article on the matter (you can try one week for free). It talks about the ‘battle of the Sans’ between San Siro and San Donato, which has been hard to keep up with.
Scaroni spoke to Radio TV Serie A with Rds as part of the Goal Economy program to take stock of the current situation for the Rossoneri, and his comments were relayed by Calciomercato.com.
Where is Serie A at as a league?
“In 20 years, Serie A has lost some ground, it has not kept pace with the growth of other European leagues and in particular the English one. At the time it was the point of reference, today the point of reference is the English league and, if anything, the cups.
“Serie A has dropped in terms of attractiveness on a global level. Just think of the difference in television revenue with us, who collect no more than 200 million a year.”
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How important is it to balance revenues and costs?
“Financial sustainability is not a choice, it is mandatory. If you don’t have this, UEFA penalises you and it is the premise for future success. Through financial sustainability, we are the ones who have invested the most. Then everyone can say that the results are seen and not seen, because in the end that is what counts.”
Milan have chosen to invest in youth…
“On the one hand, through Milan Futuro we are making a bet on young people and it costs us several million and we are convinced that it is worth it. Then not all plans bring results in the short term. We are here to win, then not everything succeeds, but I tell the fans to have faith because we are here to win every match.”
What can you tell us about the stadium project?
“The project we are working on today is the twin project of the 2018 project. Six years have passed and nothing has happened. In these years the citizens’ vision has also changed and politicians usually want to be elected.
“It’s not that San Siro is iconic, Inter and Milan are iconic, have you ever seen a modern stadium? The perception has also changed thanks to the fact that when they see modern stadiums on TV, people realise the objects we have here.
“The Milanese citizens have realised that the stadium where they watched matches with their dad and grandpa is beautiful, for goodness sake, but it is no longer functional.”
What about San Donato?
“The San Donato plan has become Plan B since the Superintendency eliminated the constraint on the construction of the new stadium next to the Meazza to be demolished.
“I thank the mayor, now a different process has started because the two clubs now have to buy the stadium, the land next to the stadium, obtain building permits and so on. We have to make a contract to ensure that everything is perfect because the impact will be significant, but I am optimistic.”
The words are in sharp contrast to those that Scaroni uttered just a few weeks ago in which he stated that San Donato is the number one opportunity, and he even reassured the mayor of the region who had become concerned.
