Inter and AC Milan unveil $1.3bn Generali Stadium in Milan

Milan, Italy - FC Internazionale Milano and AC Milan have unveiled Generali Stadium, a 71,500-seat shared venue estimated to cost around $1.3 billion (€1.2 billion) that is planned to replace San Siro and open for the 2031/32 season.

The clubs presented the design on Thursday 29 October at Castello Sforzesco in Milan. The new ground is to rise on the existing San Siro site, and construction is planned to start in 2028 once planning and regulatory approvals are complete.

Inter supporters opposed to losing the old stadium protested outside the presentation. They held up a banner that read “You will never extinguish the lights at San Siro” and chanted “Hands off San Siro”.

The demonstration showed that a gap remains between the clubs’ plans for a modern venue and fans who see San Siro as a part of Milan’s sporting identity that cannot be replaced.

British practice Foster + Partners, led by Lord Norman Foster, drew up the design with stadium specialist MANICA, headed by David Manica. According to the clubs, the two firms first worked together on London’s Wembley Stadium.

Spectators will sit in two tiers that form a continuous 360-degree bowl, with steeply raked stands meant to bring them nearer the pitch. A concrete X-frame structure runs from naturally ventilated colonnades up the façade to carry a double-curved roof, and diamond-shaped structures mark the entrances.

Each end will have a steep curva, the stand Italian football traditionally gives to its most vocal supporters, with seats inclined at up to 37 degrees. The clubs said the layout is designed to keep the atmosphere fans link with San Siro while improving facilities and accessibility.

The venue is also being designed for concerts, rugby and international NFL games, so that it can earn revenue all year round.

On the environmental side, the clubs pointed to natural ventilation, photovoltaic power generation and measures to improve energy efficiency. They said the roof also integrates acoustic optimisation.

The stadium sits at the centre of a wider 281,000 sq m urban regeneration project, which the clubs said will bring new public spaces, green areas, and leisure and retail destinations to the surrounding district.

Inter and AC Milan see the project as part of a wider push to grow commercial income and put their finances on a stronger footing in European football. Inter is owned by Oaktree, part of Brookfield’s credit platform, and AC Milan by RedBird Capital Partners.

The two clubs have played at San Siro, formally the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium, for decades under arrangements with the municipality. It is still one of the best-known football grounds in Europe, but Inter and AC Milan have long said its facilities and commercial set-up require major modernisation.

Owning a new stadium would hand them more control over matchday operations, hospitality, sponsorship and events outside football. Further income is expected from premium seats, corporate facilities, commercial partnerships and non-matchday activities.

The naming-rights deal with Italian insurer Generali is a further strand of that strategy. The clubs have not officially disclosed its financial terms, though they describe it as one of the largest stadium naming-rights agreements in global sport, and Generali will also become Official Insurance Partner of both clubs.

The unveiling comes after years of talks, rival proposals and delays over the stadium’s future.

San Siro opened in 1926. It has been home to generations of Inter and AC Milan fans and has staged many major football events, among them matches at the 1990 FIFA World Cup, and its history and architecture have made it one of Italy’s best-known sporting venues.

The clubs first put forward plans to replace it in 2019, but disagreements and regulatory hurdles held the scheme back. They then submitted a joint proposal to rebuild San Siro in August 2025.

In September 2025, Milan’s city council approved selling the stadium and the land around it to the two clubs. Inter and AC Milan completed the purchase through a jointly owned company in November 2025, paying approximately $226 million (€197 million).

That acquisition let the redevelopment move forward, although further planning procedures and environmental assessments are still required.

City authorities had earlier set out an aim of breaking ground in the second half of 2027. The 2028 start now given by the clubs shows the timetable can still move while approvals are pending.

Inter and AC Milan intend to keep playing at the current ground while the new stadium is built on the same site.

Most of the old stadium is expected to be demolished once the new one is finished. The redevelopment plans keep parts of the existing structure and work them into the wider regeneration of the area.

Supporters and heritage campaigners have opposed the scheme, arguing that San Siro carries cultural and architectural value beyond football.

Many fans tie the stadium to decades of sporting memories and a matchday atmosphere they say cannot simply move to a new building, and Thursday’s protest outside the unveiling showed the dispute is still open despite the clubs’ progress. Subject to approvals, the clubs aim to stage the first game at Generali Stadium in the 2031/32 season.