Milan Mayor Beppe Sala is optimistic that he can convince Inter Milan and AC Milan to stay at the San Siro with renovations.
The Mayor spoke to Milan-based newspaper Libero in an interview published in today’s print edition, via FCInterNews.
In recent weeks, Sala has been trying to make the idea of renovating the San Siro work.
The Milan Mayor will certainly want to keep Inter and Milan playing within the city of Milan.
Meanwhile, the clubs have been orienting themselves towards projects outside city limits. This has followed the roadblocks to the clubs’ initial plan of demolishing the San Siro.
Inter and Milan are hellbent on having a more modern stadium to play in.
And the clubs increasingly seem to feel that that will necessarily mean building outside of Milan proper.
But for his part, Milan Mayor Sala believes that it could be possible for the clubs to stay at the existing stadium, not demolish it, but instead renovate the stadium to meet their needs.
Sala Optimistic He Can Convince Inter & AC Milan To Stay At San Siro
Asked if he thinks he can convince the clubs, Sala replied that “It’s complicated. But I think I’ll succeed.”
As far as his recent discussions with Inter President Steven Zhang, the Milan Mayor said that “We did speak.”
“Zhang told me that he has doubts about San Siro. Because his club can’t afford to move into a smaller stadium for two years.”
“But he told me there’s room for negotiations,” the Mayor added.
As far as the possible conditions that Zhang would accept, Sala revealed “That they continue playing at the San Siro, limiting the space that they’re not using to a minimum.”
“Or playing at a different stadium for a couple matches at the beginning or end of the season, to guarantee the renovation work during the summer.”
“He didn’t promise me, ‘Yes. We’ll stay in the San Siro.'” Sala said of Zhang.
“But from the tone of our conversation, I sensed a sincere willingness on his part.
