An English founder and an English stadium for Milan. In 1925 the President of Milan, Piero Pirelli, had started the construction of a stadium dedicated only to football. Piero Pirelli was a great fan of English football and it was no coincidence that he wanted an English stadium, only for football and without an athletics track. The plant was built in a record time of 13 months, between August 1925 and September 1926.
In the name of Sampierdarenese: Milan played their last league match on 4 July 1926 in Viale Lombardia in Milan, winning 2-0 against the Genoese team, and their first official match at San Siro against the same opponent on 3 October 1926, losing instead in this case 2-1. The structure, as planned by the engineer Alberto Cugini and the architect Ulisse Stacchini, was initially composed of four straight stands, one of which is partially covered, for a capacity of up to 35 thousand spectators.
The structure of the first San Siro was typically English, with four independent stands in reinforced concrete, one of which covered by a canopy, and the parterre. The connecting curves between the stands did not yet exist and the stadium also served the needs of the racecourses. Some spaces under the stands served as changing rooms, showers, offices, but were also used as stables, barns and forage warehouses.
On the day of the first match ever at San Siro, the news that is given by the daily newspapers is: the field has been inaugurated. All this happens with a friendly derby on September 19, 1926. Born to host home games, starting from the 1947/1948 season the stadium became a playground.
The Municipality of Milan, after having purchased the stadium that had been the scene of the semifinal of the 1934 World Cup, which Italy won 1-0 against Austria on 3 June 1934, started a first expansion operation in 1935. The operation results in the construction of four connecting curves between the stands and an increase in the capacity of the two central stands: the closure of the works gives back to the Milanese a stadium with 55,000 seats.
After a period of great splendor for the Milanese teams that won European and world trophies in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s with the relative commemorative plaques affixed to the ramps of San Siro, on the occasion of the 1990 World Cup the stadium was renewed. Based on the project signed by the architects Giancarlo Ragazzi, Enrico Hoffer and the engineer Leo Finzi, a third ring is built, supported autonomously by 11 cylindrical towers arranged around the stadium that give access to the stands. Four of these towers also support the large support beams of the new seating cover. The color of the seats installed chromatically distinguishes the four sectors into which San Siro is divided: red and orange for the straights, green and blue for the curves.
The resulting 85,700 seats are all covered with polycarbonate sheets that guarantee greater comfort for spectators and natural lighting for the playing field. A new lighting system and a turf heating system were built to keep the temperature constantly controlled, preventing the formation of ice.
On 8 June 1990 the stadium hosted the opening match of the World Championships, Argentina-Cameroon 0-1. Since then, the La Scala of Milanese football has hosted and hosts, every Sunday, the passions of thousands of fans. In the summer of 2008, following the redevelopment works to adapt the structure to the standards required by UEFA, the capacity of the stadium increased to 80,018 seats. Other adaptation works were carried out in the summer of 2012 and on other subsequent occasions. The management of the San Siro stadium and related activities, including those linked to own brands and sales outlets, is managed by the company M-I Stadio Srl, which was established on 12 December 2011 from the transformation of the San Siro Duemila Consortium.
Also the scene of major events, concerts and shows, San Siro hosted on its turf the greatest champions, without exception, who have ever trod the football fields in the history of this sport, both with the Milan shirt and all opposing teams on stage in Milan
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