San Siro sale to Inter and AC Milan will be decided on Monday after fiery meeting

The future of the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza will be decided on Monday, as today’s tense and at times fiery council meeting reached no agreement on selling the San Siro land to Inter and Milan.

The two clubs have made an offer to purchase the land around the existing Stadio Meazza, aiming to build a new state of the art stadium in what is effectively the car park, then knocking down the old arena once that is finished.

The proposal has a deadline of September 30, because from November they would not be allowed to knock down the second tier of the Stadio Meazza, as it becomes old enough to qualify for protected status under a law covering buildings of historic importance.

San Siro debate will continue until vote on Monday

No decision was reached today, but the positive news for Inter and Milan was that a motion to suspend the meeting was rejected, by 26 votes to 20.

Many of the arguments against the sale of the land to the two clubs has to do with the ownership of the Serie A sides, as both are currently under the guidance of American trust funds.

Those opposing the sale of San Siro believe that there is not enough in the contracts limiting the owners of the clubs from in turn selling the stadium and its land on to third parties in future, which would be ‘speculating’ on valuable city land.

They are also eager to maintain the historic structure of the Stadio Meazza, urging a refurbishment of the existing stadium, something that both Inter and Milan have warned is impractical.

There were also some bizarre stunts, such as one politician handing a pot of glue to Mayor Beppe Sala, accusing him of doing anything to keep himself glued to his current position.

The matter is finally coming to a head after years of discussion, as a vote is set for Monday to either give the all clear to the sale of San Siro, or send the clubs back to square one.