AC Milan released pictures of their new stadium

A.C Milan have revealed the first designs for their new £300m stadium. The stadium plans have been drawn up by Fabio Novembre, the architect behind the club’s recently ‘Casa Milan’ headquarters and are partly inspired by Bayern Munich’s former Olympic Stadium, as well as Juventus Stadium in Turin.

Milan’s current stadium, the San Siro, has a capacity of 80,000 but is rarely full due to a country-wide economic crisis. Proposals have already been accepted in principle by city authorities and the daughter of the club’s owner and president Barbara Berlusconi is making a big push to get the stadium built by 2018.

The stadium is expected to be partly bankrolled by club sponsors Emirates so the second ‘Emirates Stadium’ looks more than likely following Arsenal’s deal with the airline firm in 2006.

Early figures indicated that Milan’s new stadium will cost in the region of £300m. The proposed location is a short distance from San Siro and accessible from a new underground line in Milan which will be ready in the next few years.

The Rossoneri are teaming up with the designers of Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena and Beijing’s Bird Nest stadium to create Milan’s new home, according to BBC Sport.

As of last season, on average Milan could only fill half of the San Siro, with rivals Inter averaging slightly better numbers.

Milan presented a statement and posted possible plans about their new stadium on their official website.

Milan and Arup have presented their interest in the redevelopment of the Portello area of the city. Today evaluations of the offers for the contract will begin and Milan hopes it will lead to the creation of one of the most innovative stadiums in the world. There are plans to also include a hotel, a sports college, restaurants, children’s playground, green areas and spaces reserved to artists and citizens.

A unique place, planned in collaboration with the Milan Polytechnic Architecture Department and that aims to be open 7 days a week and not just on match days. It plans to hold 48.000 spectators and aims to provide a truly exciting experience with particular attention towards families, with the latest comforts and the best in security. The team behind the project has studied over 70 stadiums across the world (and not just football stadiums). It has then used this research and passed this onto the designers Arup.

Arup is a world leader in the engineering and design sector. It has created Bayern Munich’s new stadium and the new stadium in Beijing. Arup currently employs over 11.000 people in 91 offices situated in 39 countries.

The project takes its inspiration from the English model: a stadium that can be reached by public transport and by doing so encouraging fans to be more environmentally aware. The entire project has a common theme which is sustainability:

• Visual impact on the city. It will be more similar to a building than a stadium. The height won’t exceed 30m from ground level (San Siro is over 60m in height) and will also go 10m underground. It won’t therefore affect the landscape and will seek to fit in perfectly with the city’s architectural style.

• No noise: thanks to the latest technology and sound-proof materials the noise will be reduced to a minimum to those on the outside.

• No traffic: as mentioned public transport will be highly encouraged.

• More green areas: there are plans for green areas open to citizens throughout the year.

• Increased security: just like the English model fans will not only be kept under control but also be given greater responsibility. Fewer turnstiles to gain access and less barriers between the fans and the players. However zero tolerance to those who behave inappropriately in and out of the stadium.

• New jobs: around 1000 jobs have been estimated for the creation of the stadium and around 500 jobs will be created once the project has been completed.

• Financial sustainability: the state of the art project already has numerous companies interested in playing a part in the project.

• Increase in the value of the property in the area: the redevelopment of the area and the services will increase the value of the residential areas and property that are currently in the area.

• No speculation: there are often reports of property speculation associated with plans for a new stadium. Residential structures are not a part of the project.

San Siro

AC Milan, thanks also to the Milan City Council and ahead of the Champions League final, is still committed to the improvement of the San Siro. In fact, there are plans for new restaurants, a new store, a new museum, a new sky lounge, refurbishment of the hygienic services, new and more comfortable seats to watch the match, hospitality rooms in the first orange tier and the creation of new places pitch-side to follow the match in close contact with the players.

The architect Faroldi: “We were inspired by the Emirates Stadium in London and the stadiums of Basel, Bilbao and Neuchatel.”

Emilio Faroldi, Professor of Architectural Technology at the Department of Architecture, Construction Engineering and Building Environment of the Polytechnic of Milan, spoke to Gazzetta dello Sport: “We approached the project developing the basic themes of this work: we talking about environmental sustainability, the concept of a smart urban arena that is easily reached by public transport, and it is low impact. A stadium, also, that identifies itself more like a building, like a piece of the city , and not as a business machine to be activated exclusively for a sporting event once a week “.Professor Faroldi went on: “Scientific research, through a series of studies, tells us clearly that the role of the arenas in Europe and in the world is gradually changing. The stadiums are no longer meant only as a place for sporting events, although open all week, but as a useful piece to reorder the urban outlook of a city, a neighborhood.”

Here are the first few pictures released by AC Milan: