San Siro
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45°28′41″N 9°7′26″E / 45.47806°N 9.12389°E
Stadio Giuseppe Meazza | |
 | |
 | |
| Former names | Stadio Comunale di San Siro |
|---|---|
| Address | Piazzale Angelo Moratti, 20151 |
| Location | Milan, Italy |
| Public transit |
|
| Owner | AC Milan (1926–1935) Municipality of Milan (1935–present) |
| Operator | M-I Stadio s.r.l. |
| Type | Stadium |
| Executive suites | 30 |
| Capacity | 75,817[1] (limited capacity) 80,018[2] (maximum) |
| Field size | 105 m × 68 m |
| Surface | GrassMaster hybrid grass |
| Scoreboard | Tecnovision |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | December 1925; 98 years ago |
| Opened | 19 September 1926; 98 years ago |
| Renovated | 1935, 1955, 1987–1990, 2015–2016 |
| Architect |
|
| Tenants | |
| AC Milan (1926–1941, 1945–present) Internazionale (1947–present) Italy national football team (selected matches) | |
San Siro (officially the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza) is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy. It has a seating capacity of 80,018, making it the largest stadium in Italy and one of the largest stadiums in Europe. It is the home stadium of the city's principal professional football clubs, AC Milan and Inter Milan, who share an intense rivalry.
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,[3] and served two stints as Inter's manager.
The San Siro is a UEFA category four stadium. It hosted three games at the 1934 FIFA World Cup, the opening ceremony and 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.[4] The stadium will also host the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina. On September 2024 it was ruled out of hosting the Champions League final in 2027.[5] It is one of the potential venues for the UEFA Euro 2032.
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 AC 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 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 the San Siro, which cost $60 million, was in 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 Milan and Internazionale's history, with historical shirts, cups and trophies, shoes, art objects and souvenirs of all kinds on display to visitors.
Three Milan derby Champions League knockout ties have taken place at the San Siro, in 2003, 2005 and 2023 with Milan winning the first of two ties with the latter being won by Inter Milan.[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 Italy national team occasionally plays matches 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 Bayern Munich) and 2016 (won by Real Madrid).[4][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 the 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.
The 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 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 25 March, the Associated Press dubbed the UEFA Champions League match between Bergamo club Atalanta and Spanish club Valencia at the 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 24 March, 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
Milan and Internazionale announced their intention in June 2019 to build a new stadium to replace the San Siro. The new 60,000 capacity stadium, which would be constructed next to the San Siro, was initially anticipated to cost US$800 million and be ready for the 2022–23 season,[21] although this did not come to pass.
Giuseppe Sala, the current Mayor of Milan, and the comune of Milan asked for time and stressed that the 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, 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 the San Siro.[27] On 21 December 2021, the Populous project was chosen.[28]
On 27 September 2023, Milan chairman Paolo Scaroni announced the club had filed a proposal to build a new 70,000-seater stadium, alongside the club headquarters and museum in the comune of San Donato Milanese, a suburb south of Milan.[29]
| Date | Opponent | Score | Attendance | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 February 1927 | Czechoslovakia | 2–2 | 28,000 | Friendly |
| 2 December 1928 | Netherlands | 3–2 | 19,000 | |
| 1 December 1929 | Portugal | 6–1 | 25,000 | |
| 22 February 1931 | Austria | 2–1 | 45,000 | 1931–32 Central European International Cup |
| 27 November 1932 | Hungary | 4–2 | 32,000 | Friendly |
| 25 March 1934 | Greece | 4–0 | 20,000 | 1934 FIFA World Cup qualification Group 3 |
| 3 June 1934 | Austria | 1–0 | 35,000 | 1934 FIFA World Cup Semi-final |
| 9 December 1934 | Hungary | 4–2 | 45,000 | Friendly |
| 25 October 1936 | Switzerland | 4–2 | 40,000 | 1936–38 Central European International Cup |
| 15 May 1938 | Belgium | 6–1 | 25,000 | Friendly |
| 13 May 1939 | England | 2–2 | 60,000 | |
| 5 May 1940 | Germany | 3–2 | 65,000 | |
| 19 April 1942 | Spain | 4–0 | 55,000 | |
| 1 December 1946 | Austria | 3–2 | 53,000 | |
| 6 May 1951 | Yugoslavia | 0–0 | 50,000 | |
| 24 January 1954 | Egypt | 5–1 | 40,000 | 1954 FIFA World Cup qualification Group 9 |
| 25 April 1956 | Brazil | 3–0 | 80,000 | Friendly |
| 22 December 1957 | Portugal | 3–0 | 50,000 | 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification Group 8 |
| 12 May 1963 | Brazil | 3–0 | 72,000 | Friendly |
| 18 June 1966 | Austria | 1–0 | 40,000 | |
| 1 November 1966 | Soviet Union | 1–0 | 55,000 | |
| 9 October 1971 | Sweden | 3–0 | 65,582 | UEFA Euro 1972 qualifying Group 6 |
| 29 April 1972 | Belgium | 0–0 | 63,549 | UEFA Euro 1972 qualifying quarter-finals |
| 1 November 1973 | Sweden | 2–0 | 65,454 | Friendly |
| 5 June 1976 | Romania | 4–2 | 30,329 | |
| 24 February 1979 | Netherlands | 3–0 | 70,000 | |
| 15 March 1980 | Uruguay | 1–0 | 35,000 | |
| 12 June 1980 | Spain | 0–0 | 46,816 | UEFA Euro 1980 Group B |
| 13 November 1982 | Czechoslovakia | 2–2 | 72,386 | UEFA Euro 1984 qualifying Group 5 |
| 26 September 1984 | Sweden | 1–0 | 25,000 | Friendly |
| 15 November 1986 | Switzerland | 3–2 | 67,422 | UEFA Euro 1988 qualifying Group 2 |
| 5 December 1987 | Portugal | 3–0 | 13,524 | |
| 17 November 1993 | 1–0 | 71,513 | 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification Group 1 | |
| 7 October 2000 | Romania | 3–0 | 54,297 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification Group 8 |
| 17 April 2002 | Uruguay | 1–1 | 16,767 | Friendly |
| 6 September 2003 | Wales | 4–0 | 68,000 | UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying Group 7 |
| 26 March 2005 | Scotland | 2–0 | 40,745 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification Group 5 |
| 8 September 2007 | France | 0–0 | 81,200 | UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group B |
| 16 October 2012 | Denmark | 3–1 | 37,027 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification Group B |
| 15 November 2013 | Germany | 1–1 | 40,000 | Friendly |
| 16 November 2014 | Croatia | 1–1 | 63,222 | UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying Group H |
| 15 November 2016 | Germany | 0–0 | 48,600 | Friendly |
| 13 November 2017 | Sweden | 0–0 | 72,696 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification Second round |
| 17 November 2018 | Portugal | 73,000 | 2018–19 UEFA Nations League Group A3 | |
| 6 October 2021 | Spain | 1–2 | 33,524 | 2021 UEFA Nations League Finals Nations League SF |
| 23 September 2022 | England | 1–0 | 50,640 | 2022–23 UEFA Nations League A |
| 12 September 2023 | Ukraine | 2–1 | 58,386 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Group C |
The stadium was one of the biggest venues of the 1934 FIFA World Cup and held three matches.
| Date | Team No. 1 | Result | Team No. 2 | Round |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 May 1934 | Switzerland | 3–2 | Netherlands | Round of 16 |
| 31 May 1934 | Germany | 2–1 | Sweden | Quarter-finals |
| 3 June 1934 | Italy | 1–0 | Austria | Semi-finals |
The stadium was one of the four selected to host the matches during the UEFA Euro 1980.
| Date | Team No. 1 | Result | Team No. 2 | Round |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 June 1980 | Spain | 0–0 | Italy | |
| 15 June 1980 | Belgium | 2–1 | Spain | |
| 17 June 1980 | Netherlands | 1–1 | Czechoslovakia |
The stadium was one of the venues of the 1990 FIFA World Cup and held six matches.
| Date | Team No. 1 | Result | Team No. 2 | Round |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 June 1990 | Argentina | 0–1 | Cameroon | Group B (opening match) |
| 10 June 1990 | West Germany | 4–1 | Yugoslavia | Group D |
| 15 June 1990 | 5–1 | United Arab Emirates | ||
| 19 June 1990 | 1–1 | Colombia | ||
| 24 June 1990 | 2–1 | Netherlands | Round of 16 | |
| 1 July 1990 | Czechoslovakia | 0–1 | 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 No. 1 | Result | Team No. 2 | Round |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 October 2021 | Italy | 1–2 | Spain | Semi-finals (opening match) |
| 10 October 2021 | Spain | 1–2 | France |
2026 Winter Olympics
Opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics (Milano Cortina) will be held at San Siro on 6 February 2026.
San Siro was the venue for the boxing match between Duilio Loi vs. Carlos Ortiz for the Junior Welterweight title in 1960.
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 | Test match | Italy | 6–20 | New Zealand | 80,000 |
Since the 1980s, the stadium has hosted concerts by several major international artists. The first ever to perform there was Bob Marley on 27 June 1980, during the Uprising Tour.[30] Afterwards it had the opportunity to host Bob Dylan and Santana in 1984, Bruce Springsteen in 1985, Genesis, Duran Duran and David Bowie in 1987, Michael Jackson in 1997, and in more recent times, the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2004, U2 in 2005 and 2009, The Rolling Stones in 2006 and 2022, Madonna in 2009, Depeche Mode in 2009, 2013, 2017 and 2023, Muse in 2010, 2019, and 2023, Bon Jovi in 2013, Pearl Jam in 2014, Beyoncé in 2016, Coldplay in 2017 and 2023, Ed Sheeran in 2019, and Elton John in 2022 and Taylor Swift in 2024.
Edoardo Bennato was the first Italian artist to perform and sell out the stadium in July 1980.[31] In 2007, Laura Pausini became the first female artist to perform at the stadium and also held two consecutive concerts on 4 and 5 June 2016.[32]
Vasco Rossi, is the artist who holds the record for largest number of performances on the stadium, with 29 concerts between 1990 and 2019,[33] followed by Luciano Ligabue with 13 concerts. Vasco Rossi also holds the record for consecutive concerts with six shows between 1 and 12 June 2019.[34][35]
The international artist with the most concerts at San Siro is Bruce Springsteen, with nine shows as of his 2024 appearances.[36]
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,[40] 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:
| Service | Station | Line |
|---|---|---|
| Milan Metro | San Siro Stadio | |
| San Siro Ippodromo | ||
| Lotto | ||
| Tram | Piazza Axum (Stadio) | 16 |
- ^ "Structure". sansirostadium.com. Archived from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
- ^ "San Siro, per le vibrazioni al terzo anello chiusi sei settori: "Nessun problema di sicurezza, ma così si evita il panico"". La Reppublica (in Italian). 1 August 2019. Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
- ^ "The history of the San Siro stadium". AC Milan.com. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
- ^ a b "Milan to host 2016 UEFA Champions League final". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 18 September 2014. Archived from the original on 20 September 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
- ^ "Το Σαν Σίρο αποκλείστηκε οριστικά από τη διοργάνωση του τελικού του Champions League το 2027". www.sport24.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 24 September 2024.
- ^ Almanacco Illustrato del Milan, Panini, Modena (it.)
- ^ The architectural structure of San Siro was shared in Italy with Marassi which, due to being the private home ground of Genoa, also had no athletics track.
- ^ Gianni, Santucci (16 September 2006). "San Siro and football, eighty years of show". Corriere della Sera – Archive (in Italian). Archived from the original on 19 October 2010. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
- ^ Werner, Feiersinger (2017). 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.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ #TBT: 5 European clashes against Italian sides Archived 23 May 2019 at the Wayback Machine, Milan, 30 November 2017
- ^ "Milan move into last four". UEFA. 13 April 2005. Archived from the original on 2 January 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
- ^ "Inter handed stadium ban and fine". BBC Sport. 15 April 2005. Archived from the original on 23 November 2018. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
- ^ "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. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
- ^ "Inter 1—0 Rangers". BBC Sport. 28 September 2005. Archived from the original on 7 February 2007. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
- ^ "Italy 2—0 Scotland". BBC News. 26 March 2005. Archived from the original on 7 September 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
- ^ "San Siro's previous four European Cup finals". UEFA. 20 January 2016. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
- ^ Hughes, Rob (5 April 1995). "Will a Spoonful of Sugar Make a Bad Boy Nice?". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
- ^ "Il passato e' oggi: a San Siro Juventus-Borussia" [Today in the past: Juventus-Borussia at San Siro] (in Italian). Mediaset. 4 April 2010. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
- ^ Juventus: A History in Black and White, Adam Digby, 2015, 9781783016914
- ^ Dampf, Andrew; Azzoni, Tales (25 March 2020). "Game Zero: Spread of virus linked to Champions League match". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 2 May 2020. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
- ^ The Legendary San Siro Stadium Is Getting Demolished Archived 24 June 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Sport Bible. Published 24 June 2019.
- ^ Inter e Milan insieme per un nuovo stadio, ma Sala frena: "San Siro non si tocca" Archived 26 June 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Gazzetta del Sud (in Italian). Published 24 June 2019.
- ^ Sala: "San Siro? Sarà funzionante nel 2026. Fine della storia" Archived 25 June 2019 at the Wayback Machine. La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Published 24 June 2019.
- ^ Demolizione di San Siro, 'no' bipartisan a Milan e Inter Archived 26 June 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Il Giorno (in Italian). Published 25 June 2019.
- ^ "A New Stadium for Milano". nuovostadiomilano.com. Archived from the original on 27 June 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
- ^ "AC Milan & Inter Milan reveal new stadium plans". BBC Sport. 26 September 2019. Archived from the original on 4 March 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
- ^ "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. Archived from the original on 23 May 2020. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
- ^ "Nuovo San Siro, Inter e Milan scelgono la Cattedrale – Sport – TGR Lombardia". Rainews.it. 21 December 2021. Archived from the original on 3 March 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
- ^ "AC Milan take 'first step' in new stadium project". ESPN.com. 27 September 2023. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
- ^ "Concerti a San Siro a quota 101: da Bob Marley a Beyoncé". Il Giorno.it (in Italian). 13 January 2017.
- ^ Donadio, Francesco (2011). Edoardo Bennato – Venderò la mia rabbia (in Italian). Rome: Arcana Edizioni. pp. 271–276. ISBN 978-8862311588.
- ^ "Laura Pausini, prima donna a cantare per due date di fila a San Siro". Radio Italia.it (in Italian). 30 December 2015.
- ^ "Vasco Rossi: 29 San Siro, 29 Sold Out in 29 anni". TV Sorrisi e Canzoni (in Italian). 21 May 2019.
- ^ "Vasco sbanca San Siro, sei concerti da record". La Stampa (in Italian). 1 June 2019.
- ^ "Vasco Rossi a San Siro per i concerti al via dal 1° giugno per 6 date da record". Optimagazine (in Italian). 29 May 2019.
- ^ "Bruce Springsteen,quasi 4 ore rock da record a San Siro". ANSA (in Italian). 4 July 2016.
- ^ "Current Boxscore | Billboard". Billboard. 9 August 2016. Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
- ^ "Current Boxscore | Billboard". Billboard. 18 July 2018. Archived from the original on 18 July 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
- ^ Meo (Caporedattore), Oriana (28 April 2023). "Tiziano Ferro: a sorpresa arriva il nuovo singolo inedito 'Destinazione Mare'". All Music Italia (in Italian). Archived from the original on 30 April 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
- ^ "AC Milan & Inter Stadium – San Siro – Visiting the Stadium – Metro". Football Tripper. 16 August 2014. Archived from the original on 4 May 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
- Official website (in Italian and English)
- AC Milan website
- FC Internazionale Milano website
- San Siro on Facebook
- San Siro on Facebook (AC Milan)
- San Siro on Facebook (FC Internazionale Milano)
- San Siro at Google Maps
- Stadium Guide Article
| Preceded by | European Cup Final venue 1965 |
Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | European Cup Final venue 1970 |
Succeeded by Wembley Stadium |
| Preceded by | FIFA World Cup Opening venue 1990 |
Succeeded by Soldier Field |
| Preceded by | UEFA Champions League Final venue 2001 |
Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | UEFA Champions League Final venue 2016 |
Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | UEFA Nations League Finals venue 2021 with Juventus Stadium |
Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Beijing National Stadium |
Winter Olympic Games Opening ceremony (Olympic Stadium) 2026 |
Succeeded by TBA |