Area sprint in the hinterland. Visibility from the highway can enhance naming rights
AC Milan could celebrate his 130th birthday – old man – in San Donato Milanese. The club is increasingly determined to choose the San Francesco area (in the Milanese hinterland, south-east of the city center) for its new stadium, a major priority of the RedBird property. Milan has been evaluating various options for months and in recent weeks has narrowed the field of options: no Cathedral at San Siro, no stadium at La Maura, it has come to a run-off between Sesto San Giovanni and San Donato. Now the acceleration on one of the two areas: San Donato is more than favored because today Milan plans to build there the plant that the club would like to inaugurate in 2028 or 2029, when Milan will celebrate its 130th birthday. It would be the gate to the city, the first large building seen by those arriving in Milan by car from the south. A calling card for the city of football.
Naming rights
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San Donato pulled away from Sesto for a combination of reasons. Fast times are the main thing. San Donato is not the most beautiful area but it is the one where Milan could start building sooner. The economic aspect, of course, is not in the background. Milan are negotiating with the owners of the area, which has an advantage. The stadium, in San Donato, would be built between the A1 motorway and the junction leading to the Tangenziale Est, two of the city’s main thoroughfares. A bit like what happens in Munich with the Allianz Arena, built a few meters from the motorway. A relevant detail for naming rights, the sponsorship linked to the name. Take the two Allianz. The one in Munich is noticed by millions of motorists a month, the one in Turin during the week is not seen except by the residents of Turin. And this, on the value of that sponsorship, can have a lot of impact.
Three projects
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In San Donato there would be direct access from the ring road and the possibility of reaching the stadium also by underground and railway, while higher development costs would have to be faced. However, the merits evidently outweigh the defects, so much so that there are already three projects under evaluation. Milan hope to reach a definitive decision between June and July. The Neverending Story, perhaps, is at the turning point.
June 7, 2023 (change June 7, 2023 | 1:07 pm)
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