AC Milan and Inter confirm San Siro will be demolished and unveil design for 71,500-seat Generali Stadium

AC Milan and Inter confirmed plans to demolish the San Siro and on October 29 presented designs for a new shared 71,500-seat Generali Stadium at Castello Sforzesco in Milan. The clubs also announced a 20-year naming-rights agreement with insurance company Generali.

San Siro, opened in 1926 and renovated ahead of the 1990 World Cup, has been home to both Milan clubs for more than eight decades and is also known as the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium. The venue is noted for its towering spiral staircases, red girders and passionate Curva sections, but the clubs said its ageing infrastructure has fallen behind modern European stadiums. The naming-rights deal was reported to be worth 650 million euros and was described by the clubs as one of the largest stadium naming rights agreements in global sport.

The new stadium project will be developed by the clubs’ owners, RedBird Capital Partners and Oaktree, with Foster + Partners and MANICA leading the architectural design. Lord Norman Foster and David Manica, who previously collaborated on London’s Wembley Stadium, drew inspiration for the proposal from Milan’s Duomo. “The most important thing that we realised when we designed this project is that the San Siro is a feeling. It's more than a building, it's a feeling, and everything that we needed to do here was to carry it into the new building,” Manica said.

Design plans describe two seating tiers forming a continuous 360-degree bowl, with steep stands rising behind the goals and seating inclinations of up to 37 degrees intended to bring spectators closer to the pitch. The schemes emphasise proximity between fans and the field as a central concept. “We started with proximity. We brought all the seats as close as possible to the field. They could not be any closer, it'll actually feel as though you're sitting on the grass,” Manica said.

The proposed Generali Stadium’s capacity is listed at 71,500, down from San Siro’s existing 75,000. The clubs acquired the land from the city of Milan for 197 million euros in November 2025, and the overall project is estimated to cost around 1.2 billion euros.

The announcement states San Siro will be largely demolished as the new stadium project approaches completion. The clubs said the move aims to create a modern home capable of improving matchday revenues and aligning facilities with contemporary standards, while acknowledging that supporters will be losing a long-standing football landmark.

Construction is expected to begin in 2028, subject to planning approvals, with the new Generali Stadium targeted to open in the 2031-32 season.