Soccer-AC Milan owners committed to building new stadium

Soccer Football – Serie A – Inter Milan v Juventus – San Siro, Milan, Italy – February 4, 2024 General view of a staircase outside the stadium before the match REUTERS/Daniele Mascolo/File Photo

LONDON (Reuters) – The owners of former European soccer champions AC Milan are committed to building a new stadium to allow the club to compete with the elite teams on the continent, their most senior executive said on Thursday.

AC Milan and local rivals Inter have both been looking into moving away from the historic San Siro stadium, owned by the local authority, and building their own separate arenas on the outskirts of the city.

Soccer Football – Serie A – AC Milan v Napoli – San Siro, Milan, Italy – February 11, 2024 AC Milan fans with flares REUTERS/Claudia Greco/File Photo

Gerry Cardinale, the founder and managing partner of investment firm RedBird Capital which bought control of AC Milan in a 1.2 billion euro deal in 2022, said the club would get a new 70,000-seater home also capable of hosting music events.

Soccer Football – Serie A – Inter Milan v Juventus – San Siro, Milan, Italy – February 4, 2024 Inter Milan fans celebrate with flares in the stands after the match REUTERS/Daniele Mascolo/File Photo

“That should be not only good for Milan, that should be good for Italy and Serie A,” Cardinale told the Financial Times Business of Football Summit.

“I am going to create a company that is going to build this stadium and then frankly I want to take that company and have it go build stadiums for all the other teams in Serie A,” he added.

Speaking alongside Cardinale, Zlatan Ibrahimovic said the San Siro had “great memories, but there is always a new beginning for everything.”

Swede Ibrahimovic finished his playing career with AC Milan in 2023 and now works as a senior advisor to the club owners.

The Milan city authorities said last week they still wanted to see if they could work with the clubs on a possible revamp of the San Siro.

AC Milan have been European champions seven times but the most recent triumph was in 2007 and deeper pocketed rivals have now overtaken them. They won their last Serie A title in 2022.

(Writing by Keith Weir, editing by Ed Osmond)