One of the legendary houses of the footballing world, the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, houses two sporting giants in AC Milan and Inter Milan.
The San Siro Stadium, also known as the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium, is one of the most famous stadiums in the world of football. Located in the heart of Milan, the stadium has been the home of two of the biggest Italian football clubs, AC Milan and Inter Milan, for almost a century.
The fact that they share a stadium may be a surprise, with no room for a fierce away atmosphere like with El Clasico at Camp Nou and the Bernabeu or Anfield and Goodison Park for the Merseyside Derby.
But that’s exactly what happens at the San Siro, where both teams play their home games. So why exactly do both teams share the same stadium?
Reason why AC Milan and Inter share San Siro
Before the San Siro stadium was built in 1926, both AC Milan and Inter Milan played in different locations. In 1899, the team AC Milan was founded by Milan Cricket and Football Club by a group of English expatriates.
San Siro was actually first the stadium of AC Milan since its construction in 1926. By 1947, there were no other suitable venues in the Italian city for either club to use as their home ground. This meant that both AC Milan and Inter Milan had to share the San Siro stadium. Prior to this, Inter Milan had been playing their football at a much smaller, Arena Civica.
Today, the stadium is owned by the City of Milan, with both clubs continuing on as shared tenants. Because the San Siro is shared by both AC Milan and Inter Milan, this makes their rivalry all the more intense. As debates are ongoing as to who rightfully owns the stadium, a lot of pride is at stake every time these teams play each other.
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Who owns San Siro?
The San Siro belongs to one club, and one set of fans. To the outsider, the name is irrevocably associated with the Rossoneri.
The San Siro is a well-known stadium with proud history and heritage, and the groundshare between AC Milan and Inter Milan is an often talked about point in conversations over footballing rivalries. But that could all come to an end with the demolition of the San Siro.
There are currently plans to build a brand-new stadium named ‘The Cathedral, which is to house roughly 60,000 seats instead of the 75,000 currently offered by the San Siro. This is due to steadily decreasing stadium attendances.
Inter are only, and have ever been only, renting tenants of the stadium. And to answer the question of who actually owns the stadium? AC Milan.