MILAN (AP) — Milan’s San Siro stadium is ready for one last hurray.
Opening ceremony scene for Milan Cortina Winter Olympics It will probably be the last event of global significance to be held at this iconic stadium before it is demolished in the coming years.
The 99-year-old arena is home to soccer clubs Inter Milan and AC Milan, and the acquisition of San Siro and the surrounding area from the city was completed in November.
The club plans to demolish it and build. new stadiumIn preparation for when Italy co-hosts 2032 European Championship With Türkiye.
San Siro has a capacity of just under 76,000 people, which will be reduced to 60,000 for the opening ceremony.
Here’s what you need to know about this historic venue.
Not exactly San Siro
The stadium was originally named after the San Siro district of Milan in which it is located. However, the name was officially changed to Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in 1980, a few months after the legendary Milanese footballer passed away.
Meazza, a two-time World Cup winner with Italy, spent most of his career at Inter and also spent two years at Milan.
He has also managed Inter three times. Inter fans are more common than Milan fans to refer to the stadium as the Meazza, but most people still refer to it simply as San Siro.
The arena is also nicknamed La Scala del Calcio (football’s La Scala), after Milan’s famous Opera House.
Rise of an icon
The stadium was built in a record time of 13 months, from August 1925 to September 1926, and is the fifth oldest stadium still in use in Italy.
But it bore little resemblance to today.
AC Milan president Piero Pirelli was a big fan of English football and drew inspiration from these stadiums. San Siro originally had four separate stands, no athletics stadium, and was designed purely for soccer.
But it also had connections to other sports, as it catered to the needs of nearby racetracks. Some of the space under the stands was used as changing rooms, showers and administrative offices, while other spaces served as stables, barns and feed storage rooms.
San Siro’s original capacity was 35,000, but a curved rim connecting the stands was built in 1935, shortly after the City Council purchased the stadium from Milan, increasing the capacity to 55,000.
In 1947, Inter joined Milan as tenants of the San Siro, and a second ring was added soon after, with construction completed in 1955, bringing the capacity to over 80,000.
The San Siro remained largely unchanged for more than 30 years, until its last major refurbishment just before the 1990 World Cup, when it became internationally recognized.
A third tier (three sides only) was built, supported by the now iconic cylindrical towers placed around the perimeter of the stadium, allowing access to the stands. Four of these 11 towers also support large support beams for the new roof.
Not just soccer
San Siro was inaugurated on September 19, 1926, when Inter defeated Milan 6-2 in a friendly. The first league match was held the following month, and Milan also lost 2-1 to St Pier d’Arenese.
The stadium also hosted many Italian matches, including 3 matches during the 1934 World Cup and 6 matches during the 1990 World Cup. Three matches of the 1980 European Championship were played at San Siro.
San Siro also hosts rugby and boxing, and many concerts featuring Italian and international artists such as Vasco Rossi, Bob Marley, Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson, Madonna and the Rolling Stones.
The stadium was due to host the 2027 Champions League final, but UEFA was forced to cancel the planned construction schedule due to uncertainty. pull the plan 2 years ago
___
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-Winter-olympics
