Why AC and Inter Milan’s iconic San Siro stadium cannot be demolished

The iconic San Siro stadium in Milan will not be demolished, it has been reported.

Over the last few years, it has been widely reported that the San Siro could be torn down as both AC and Inter Milan look to build a brand new stadium on the same site.

However, their plan have hit a new obstacle as it has been reported that the San Siro cannot be demolished.

According to Italian news outlet La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Regional Commission for the Cultural Heritage of Lombardy has decided that the stadium’s second tier holds cultural interest and therefore will be protected.

San Siro will become 70 years old in 2025, meaning an obligation to decide whether it has cultural interest can be triggered.

It has been claimed that both Milan clubs have been planning for this outcome and will now look elsewhere for their stadiums, meaning they could stop sharing the same home ground in the future, something that has been ongoing since 1947.

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A statement from the Commission said: “The Regional Commission for the Cultural Heritage of Lombardy, after having examined the attached technical documentation, and acquiring the opinion of the Superintendence for the Metropolitan City of Milan, unanimously expressed a positive opinion on the existence of cultural heritage of the second tier at the San Siro stadium, in view of future verification under art. 12 of Legislative Decree 42/2004,

“Thus, the committee endorses the proposal of the Superintendence. It should also be noted that the Archival and Bibliographic Superintendence for Lombardy, during the same session, recalled the value of the west grandstand of the stadium as an “exposed archive” for the plaques/epigraphs documenting the national and international successes of Inter and Milan.

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“Since it is a “public archive”, as well as a municipal property, it is protected by law according to art. 10, paragraph 2, letter b of Legislative Decree 42/2004.”

Currently, both AC and Inter Milan have a lease for San Siro that runs until 2030 but could depart the stadium before then.