Stadio Milan, forward shot on San Donato: rapid times and visibility

From our correspondent Marco Pasotto

June 9th
– San Donato Milanese

Constraints, reclamations, intended uses, popular protests, bureaucratic exhaustion: on the road to the new AC Milan stadium there is a hole every hundred metres. Extremely rough path. And so, in order to give concrete form to the project of the plant that will definitively give Milan financial self-sustainability, the AC Milan club in recent months has based itself on one parameter in particular to arrive at a concrete skimming: the time factor. It is on this basis that in the last period the area of ​​San Donato has taken off vigorously. Also because in via Aldo Rossi they have never made it a “geographical” question: some time ago, La Maura was no more attractive than other areas outside the city because it is part of Milan, but because at the time it seemed the most functional and fastest solution . The same reason why the lands of San Donato Milanese have now jumped into pole position. First belt south-east of the Lombard capital, well served by public transport starting from the underground with its Yellow line.

Right now this would be the fastest situation, or at least the one with which the project could really start to take shape in the fastest time. As in other cases there are pros and cons, but the main proof must be written with a capital “p”. Or the location. Area San Francesco: just enter these words on Google maps to understand the greatest advantage: the area is located between the beginning of the Tangenziale Est and the junction of the A1 motorway (ie the Milan-Naples) which leads to the city. In practice, the area is enclosed between two of the main Milanese thoroughfares. One to the east and the other to the west. With a little imagination, since we are now talking about bare and partly uncultivated land, one could think of a sort of set diamond. Exaggerated? Not for those who have deemed this area potentially eligible. It’s not for nothing that Milan have been keeping an eye on you for about a year. In fact, the precious part concerns precisely the coordinates: the Rossoneri stadium would be a sort of “gateway to Milan”, because it would be the first large structure that would be found in front of those arriving from the motorway.

The rest of the reasoning comes by itself: such visibility would be an exceptional driving force in commercial terms, especially on naming rights. The sponsor who would win them, a bit like in Germany, in Munich, at the Allianz Arena, would have a far-reaching return. One figure is enough to understand: it has been calculated that the two major roads are traveled by car by about 5 million people a year. A rough forecast indicates that in advertising terms, the value of commercial returns would increase by about 30 percent. That Milan in those parts are being serious is also demonstrated by the indiscretions surrounding the affair.

The AC Milan club initially had nine projects in hand to evaluate, then reduced to a short list of three, with feasibility studies and methodological reports already examined by president Scaroni. Which studios are candidates for the assignment of the project? It would be David Manica (the one with the “two rings” for the new San Siro, who at the time had lost the challenge with Populous), Populous himself and Gensler. The fixing would give Manica the advantage. Other advantages of the area: it already has a sporting use and is private. Potential citizens’ committees and referendums would therefore be avoided. The bureaucratic process, once AC Milan has identified the studio to entrust the project to, would include the presentation of the feasibility study and the economic-financial plan to the Municipality of San Donato, which would then have to respond with the public interest.

Timings much more streamlined than those of Palazzo Marino and the San Siro area, also because in this case there would be no commercial aspect linked to the real estate part. Among the “cons” of the San Francesco area there is in fact the size (22.5 hectares), which would limit commercial activities and parking, another delicate issue as well as the road system (undoubtedly the biggest problem). The San Donato railway station – which overlooks the area – and the underground – with the necessary improvements, the distance from the stadium would be approximately 1.5 kilometers (but the hypothesis of a further stop) – but they would certainly be of great help.