San Siro

San Siro, officially known as Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy, which is the home of A.C. Milan and Internazionale. It has a seating capacity of 75,923, making it one of the largest stadiums in Europe, and the largest in Italy.

San Siro
Stadio Giuseppe Meazza
Former namesStadio Comunale di San Siro
AddressVia Piccolomini, 5, 20151
LocationMilan, Italy
Coordinates45.478080°N 9.12400°E / 45.478080; 9.12400
Public transit San Siro Stadio
San Siro Ippodromo
OwnerA.C. Milan (1926–1935)
Municipality of Milan (1935–present)
OperatorM-I Stadio s.r.l.
Executive suites30[1]
Capacity75,923[2] (limited capacity)
78,275[3] (maximum)
Field size105m × 68m
SurfaceGrassMaster hybrid grass
ScoreboardTecnovision
Construction
Broke groundDecember 1925
Opened19 September 1926 (1926-09-19)
Renovated1935, 1955, 1987–1990, 2015–2016
Architect
  • Cugini, Stacchini (1925)
  • Perlasca, Bertera (1935)
  • Ronca, Calzolari (1955)
  • Ragazzi, Hoffer, Finzi (1990)
Tenants
A.C. Milan (1926–1941 and 1947–present)
Inter Milan (1947–present)
Italy national football team (selected matches)
Atalanta B.C. (UEFA competition matches)

On 3 March 1980, the stadium was named in honour of Giuseppe Meazza, the two-time World Cup winner (1934, 1938) who played for Inter and briefly for Milan in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s[4] and served two stints as Inter's manager.

San Siro is a UEFA category four stadium. It hosted three games at the 1934 FIFA World Cup, six games at the 1990 FIFA World Cup, three games at the UEFA Euro 1980, and four European Cup finals, in 1965, 1970, 2001 and 2016.[5] The stadium will also host the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics of Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo.

History

The choreography of A. C. Milan's fans during a Derby della Madonnina.
View of the stadium at night.
The choreography of Inter Milan's fans during a Derby della Madonnina.

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).[6] The idea to build a stadium in the same district as the horse racing track belonged to the president of A.C. Milan at the time, Piero Pirelli. The architects designed a private stadium only for football, without athletics tracks which characterized Italian stadiums built with public funds.[7] 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 A.C. Milan. Finally, in 1947, Inter, who used to play in the Arena Civica downtown,[8] 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. During construction, the realisation of the highest of the three rings was abandoned and the number of visitors limited to 100,000.[9] 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 San Siro, which cost $60 million, was that of 1987-1990, for the 1990 FIFA World Cup. It was decided to modernize 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 ring was built (only 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 support a new roof, which has distinctive protruding red girders.

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

Two Milan derby Champions League knockout ties have taken place at San Siro, in 2003 and 2005, with A.C. Milan winning both ties.[10] The reaction of Inter's fans to impending defeat in the 2005 match (throwing flares and other objects at Milan players and forcing the match to be abandoned)[11] earned the club a large fine and a four-game ban on spectators attending European fixtures there the following season.[12][13][14]

Apart from being used by Milan and Inter, the Italian national team occasionally plays games there.[15] 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 FC Bayern Munich) and 2016 (won by Real Madrid).[5][16]

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.[17][18][19] On each occasion, apart from 1991, the second leg was played at 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.

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 A.C. 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 March 25, the Associated Press dubbed the UEFA Champions League match between Bergamo club Atalanta B.C. and Spanish club Valencia at 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 March 24, 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.[20]

Potential replacement

On June 24, 2019, AC Milan and Internazionale announced their intention to build a new stadium to replace San Siro. The new 60,000 capacity stadium, which would be constructed next to San Siro, is anticipated to cost US$800 million and would be ready for the 2022–23 season. The design of the new stadium is said to be based upon the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.[21]

Giuseppe Sala, the current Mayor of Milan, and the comune of Milan asked for time and stressed that San Siro would be kept until at least the 2026 Winter Olympics and Winter Paralympics to be held in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo.[22][23] The proposed project was also met with some skepticism and opposition by several fans of both teams.[24]

On 26 September 2019, A. C. 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.[25][26] On 22 May 2020, Italy's heritage authority raised no objections to demolishing San Siro.[27]

International football matches

1934 FIFA World Cup

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

Date Team #1 Result Team #2 Round
27 May 1934  Switzerland3–2 Netherlands
Round of 16
31 May 1934 Germany2–1 Sweden
Quarter-finals
3 June 1934 Italy1–0 Austria
Semi-finals

UEFA Euro 1980

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

Date Team #1 Result Team #2 Round
12 June 1980 Spain0–0 Italy
Group B
15 June 1980 Belgium2–1 Spain
Group B
17 June 1980 Netherlands1–1 Czechoslovakia
Group A

1990 FIFA World Cup

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

Date Team #1 Result Team #2 Round
8 June 1990 Argentina0–1 Cameroon
Group B (opening match)
10 June 1990 West Germany4–1 Yugoslavia
Group D
15 June 1990 West Germany5–1 United Arab Emirates
Group D
19 June 1990 West Germany1–1 Colombia
Group D
24 June 1990 West Germany2–1 Netherlands
Round of 16
1 July 1990 Czechoslovakia0–1 West Germany
Quarter-finals

2021 UEFA Nations League Finals

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

Date Team #1 Result Team #2 Round
6 October 2021 Italy Spain
Semi-finals (opening match)
10 October 2021TBDTBD
Final

Other sports

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 and only top level rugby union match to be played at San Siro was a test match between Italy and New Zealand in November 2009. A crowd of 80,000 watched the event, a record for Italian rugby.

Year Date Match Country Score Country Attendance
2009 14 November non-cap Italy  6–20 New Zealand  80,000

Concerts

Besides football, San Siro can be configured to hold many other events, particularly major concerts.

Concert of Vasco Rossi in 2007.
Date Performer(s) Opening act(s) Tour/Event Attendance Notes
27 June 1980 Bob Marley & The Wailers Pino Daniele Uprising Tour
15 July 1980 Various artists La Carovana del Mediterraneo
19 July 1980 Edoardo Bennato Sono Solo Canzonette
29 June 1984 Bob Dylan Santana
Pino Daniele
Bob Dylan 1984 European Tour
21 June 1985 Bruce Springsteen Born in the U.S.A. Tour 65,000
13 July 1986 Various artists Milano Suono Festival 1986
16 July 1986
17 July 1986
18 July 1986
19 July 1986
20 June 1986
15 May 1987 Genesis Paul Young Invisible Touch Tour
5 June 1987 Duran Duran Strange Behaviour Tour
10 June 1987 David Bowie Glass Spider Tour 70,000
10 July 1990 Vasco Rossi Ladri di Biciclette
Casino Royale
Fronte del Palco Tour 1990
28 May 1992 Antonello Venditti Alta marea Tour
4 July 1994 Al Bano
Romina Power
7 July 1995 Vasco Rossi Rock Sotto Assedio
8 July 1995
15 June 1996 Nessun Pericolo Per Te Tour
18 June 1997 Michael Jackson B-Nario
Paola e Chiara
HIStory World Tour 65,000
28 June 1997 Ligabue Il Bar Mario è Aperto
29 June 1997
22 May 1998 Eros Ramazzotti Eros World Tour
9 July 1998 Claudio Baglioni Da me a te
5 July 2002 Ligabue Fuori Come Va Tour
6 July 2002
10 June 2003 The Rolling Stones The Cranberries Licks Tour
28 June 2003 Bruce Springsteen The Rising Tour
1 July 2003 Claudio Baglioni Tutto in un abbraccio
4 July 2003 Vasco Rossi Vasco @ S.Siro 03
5 July 2003 Irene Grandi
8 July 2003 Anouk
29 May 2004 Renato Zero Cattura il sogno
8 June 2004 Red Hot Chili Peppers The Roots Roll on the Red Tour
12 June 2004 Vasco Rossi Simone Tomassini Buoni o Cattivi Tour 2004
13 June 2004
20 July 2005 U2 Ash
Feeder
Vertigo Tour 137,427 Parts of the concerts were filmed and recorded for the group's live album and concert film U2.COMmunication and Vertigo 05: Live from Milan respectively.
21 July 2005
27 May 2006 Ligabue Nome e Cognome Tour
11 July 2006 The Rolling Stones Bo Diddley
Feeder
A Bigger Bang 56,175
22 July 2006 Robbie Williams Close Encounters Tour
2 June 2007 Laura Pausini Io Canto Tour
9 June 2007 Renato Zero MpZero
21 June 2007 Vasco Rossi Vasco Live 2007
22 June 2007
30 June 2007 Biagio Antonacci Nomadi Vicky Love Tour
31 May 2008 Negramaro La Finestra Tour
6 June 2008 Vasco Rossi Il Mondo Che Vorrei Live Tour 2008
7 June 2008
14 June 2008 Zucchero All the Best
25 June 2008 Bruce Springsteen Magic Tour 59,821
4 July 2008 Ligabue Elle-Elle Live 2008
5 July 2008
18 June 2009 Depeche Mode Dolcenera
M83
Tour of the Universe 57,544 The concert was recorded for the group's live album project Recording the Universe.
21 June 2009 Various artists Amiche per l'Abruzzo
7 July 2009 U2 Snow Patrol U2 360° Tour 153,806
8 July 2009 The performances of Breathe and Electrical Storm were recorded for the group's live album From the Ground Up: Edge's Picks from U2360°.
14 July 2009 Madonna Sticky & Sweet Tour 55,338
8 June 2010 Muse Calibro 35
Friendly Fires
Kasabian
The Resistance Tour 60,000
16 July 2010 Ligabue Margot Arrivederci Mostro
17 July 2010
16 June 2011 Vasco Rossi Vasco Live Kom '011
17 June 2011
21 June 2011
22 June 2011
12 July 2011 Take That Pet Shop Boys Progress Live
7 June 2012 Bruce Springsteen Wrecking Ball World Tour 57,149
14 June 2012 Madonna Martin Solveig The MDNA Tour 53,244
3 June 2013 Bruce Springsteen Wrecking Ball World Tour 56,670
19 June 2013 Jovanotti Backup Tour
20 June 2013
29 June 2013 Bon Jovi Because We Can 51,531
13 July 2013 Negramaro Una storia semplice Tour 2013
18 July 2013 Depeche Mode Motel Connection
Chvrches
The Delta Machine Tour 57,919
31 July 2013 Robbie Williams Olly Murs Take The Crown Stadium Tour
31 May 2014 Biagio Antonacci Palco Antonacci 2014
6 June 2014 Ligabue Mondovisione Tour: Stadi 2014
7 June 2014
20 June 2014 Pearl Jam Lightning Bolt Tour
28 June 2014 One Direction 5 Seconds of Summer Where We Are Tour 115,931 The concerts were recorded for the group's concert film One Direction: Where We Are - The Concert Film.
29 June 2014
4 July 2014 Vasco Rossi Vasco Live Kom '014
5 July 2014
9 July 2014
10 July 2014
19 July 2014 Modà Stadi Tour 2014
17 June 2015 Vasco Rossi Vasco Live Kom '015
18 June 2015
25 June 2015 Jovanotti Lorenzo Negli Stadi 2015
26 June 2015
27 June 2015
4 July 2015 Tiziano Ferro Lo stadio Tour 2015
5 July 2015
4 June 2016 Laura Pausini Simili Tour 100,388
5 June 2016
10 June 2016 Pooh L'ultima notte insieme
11 June 2016
18 June 2016 Modà Passione Maledetta Tour 2016
19 June 2016
3 July 2016 Bruce Springsteen The River Tour 2016 104,646
5 July 2016
13 July 2016 Rihanna Big Sean
DJ Mustard
Anti World Tour 53,000
18 July 2016 Beyoncé Chloe x Halle
Sophie Beem
The Formation World Tour 54,313
9 June 2017 Davide Van De Sfroos
16 June 2017 Tiziano Ferro Il Mestiere della Vita Tour
17 June 2017
19 June 2017
27 June 2017 Depeche Mode Algiers Global Spirit Tour 54,488
3 July 2017 Coldplay Lyves, Tove Lo A Head Full of Dreams Tour 117,307
4 July 2017 Tove Lo
1 June 2018 J-Ax & Fedez La Finale 79,500
20 June 2018 Cesare Cremonini Cremonini Stadi 2018 56,963
27 June 2018 Negramaro Amore Che Torni Tour Stadi 2018
6 July 2018 Beyoncé
Jay-Z
On the Run II Tour 49,051
1 June 2019 Vasco Rossi Vasco Non Stop Tour 2019
2 June 2019
6 June 2019
7 June 2019
11 June 2019
12 June 2019
19 June 2019 Ed Sheeran ÷ Tour 54,892
28 June 2019 Luciano Ligabue Start Tour
4 July 2019 Laura Pausini e Biagio Antonacci Laura Biagio Stadi Tour 2019
5 July 2019
12 July 2019 Muse Simulation Theory World Tour 89,619
13 July 2019
Postponed until a later date due to COVID-19 pandemic Tiziano Ferro TZN Tour 2020
Salmo Salmo San Siro
Ultimo Ultimo Stadi 2020
Cesare Cremonini Cesare Cremonini Tour 2020
Max Pezzali San Siro canta Max

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,[28] 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:

ServiceStationLine
Milan MetroSan Siro Stadio
San Siro Ippodromo
Lotto
Panorama of the stadium.

References

  1. https://www.sansirostadium.com/en/stadium/Structure
  2. https://milano.repubblica.it/cronaca/2019/08/01/news/san_siro_stadio_vibrazioni_sei_settori_chiusi_milano-232550036/
  3. The history of the San Siro stadium. AC Milan.com. (accessed 18 October 2011)
  4. "Milan to host 2016 UEFA Champions League final". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 18 September 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  5. Almanacco Illustrato del Milan, Panini, Modena (it.)
  6. The architectural structure of San Siro was shared in Italy with Marassi which, due to being the private home ground of Genoa CFC, also had no athletics track.
  7. http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/2006/settembre/16/San_Siro_calcio_ottant_anni_co_7_060916003.shtml
  8. Werner, Feiersinger. Armando Ronca Architektur der Moderne in Südtirol 1935–1970. Kunst Meran, Kunst, Kofler, Andreas, Schmidt, Magdalene, Stabenow, Jörg, Kofler, Andreas, Martignoni, Massimo. Zürich. ISBN 9783038600619. OCLC 988179618.
  9. #TBT: 5 European clashes against Italian sides, A.C. Milan, 30 November 2017
  10. "Milan move into last four". UEFA. 13 April 2005. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  11. "Inter handed stadium ban and fine". BBC Sport. 15 April 2005. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  12. "Pari senza emozioni nello stadio vuoto ma l'Inter conquista la Champions" [Passionless draw in the empty stadium but Inter achieves the Champions] (in Italian). La Repubblica. 24 August 2005. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  13. "Inter 1—0 Rangers". BBC Sport. 28 September 2005. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  14. "Italy 2—0 Scotland". BBC News. 26 March 2005. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  15. "San Siro's previous four European Cup finals". UEFA. 20 January 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  16. Hughes, Rob (5 April 1995). "Will a Spoonful of Sugar Make a Bad Boy Nice?". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  17. "Il passato e' oggi: a San Siro Juventus-Borussia" [Today in the past: Juventus-Borussia at San Siro] (in Italian). Mediaset. 4 April 2010. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  18. Juventus: A History in Black and White, Adam Digby, 2015, 9781783016914
  19. Dampf, Andrew, Azzoni, Tales (25 March 2020). "Game Zero: Spread of virus linked to Champions League match". Associated Press.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  20. The Legendary San Siro Stadium Is Getting Demolished. Sport Bible. Published June 24, 2019.
  21. Inter e Milan insieme per un nuovo stadio, ma Sala frena: "San Siro non si tocca". Gazzetta del Sud (in Italian). Published June 24, 2019.
  22. Sala: "San Siro? Sarà funzionante nel 2026. Fine della storia". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Published June 24, 2019.
  23. Demolizione di San Siro, 'no' bipartisan a Milan e Inter. Il Giorno (in Italian). Published June 25, 2019.
  24. https://www.nuovostadiomilano.com/en
  25. "AC Milan & Inter Milan reveal new stadium plans". BBC Sport. 26 September 2019.
  26. "AC Milan and Inter Milan's San Siro 'can be demolished' for new 60,000 stadium, says Italy's heritage authority". BBC Sport. 22 May 2020.
Preceded by
Praterstadion
Vienna
European Cup
Final venue

1965
Succeeded by
Heysel Stadium
Brussels
Preceded by
Santiago Bernabéu
Madrid
European Cup
Final venue

1970
Succeeded by
Wembley Stadium
London
Preceded by
Estadio Azteca
Mexico City
FIFA World Cup
Opening venue

1990
Succeeded by
Soldier Field
Chicago
Preceded by
Stade de France
Saint-Denis
UEFA Champions League
Final venue

2001
Succeeded by
Hampden Park
Glasgow
Preceded by
Olympiastadion
Berlin
UEFA Champions League
Final venue

2016
Succeeded by
Millennium Stadium
Cardiff
Preceded by
Beijing National Stadium
Beijing
Winter Olympics
Opening ceremony

2026
Succeeded by
TBA
Preceded by
Estádio do Dragão

Estádio D. Afonso Henriques

UEFA Nations League
Finals Venue

2021

San Siro
Juventus Stadium

Succeeded by
TBD
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