EXCLUSIVE: AC Milan despatched a delegation to Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium this week to seek inspiration for their San Siro rebuild
AC Milan sent a delegation to Hill Dickinson Stadium as they seek inspiration from Everton's new home ahead of rebuilding the San Siro
AC Milan sent a delegation to Hill Dickinson Stadium as they seek inspiration from Everton's new home ahead of rebuilding the San Siro
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European giants AC Milan sent a team of delegates to Hill Dickinson Stadium this week as they seek inspiration from Everton’s new home when rebuilding the San Siro.
With seven European Cups/Champions Leagues and 19 Serie A titles, Milan are one of the biggest names in club football worldwide.
They were a dominant force in the 1990s and 2000s under the ownership of Silvio Berlusconi with icons like Dutch trio Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit and Frank Rijkaard, other overseas imports such as George Weah, Andrij Shevchenko and Kaka, plus domestic legends Paolo Maldini and Franco Baresi in their sides. Future Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti, who went on to be the most successful coach in Champions League history, also played in midfield for Milan before moving into the dugout.
However, with the Premier League now the financially dominant force in football, Italian clubs, who regularly paid the biggest transfer fees and highest wages for several decades, have now been left playing catch up both on and off the pitch.
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The San Siro, or the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza to give it its official title, has been Milan’s home ground for almost a century since they first played there on September 19, 1926, with neighbours Internazionale having joined them in 1947.
Taking inspiration from English football grounds with four separated stands rather than the bowl shape that is popular in southern Europe, with a current capacity of 75,817, the San Siro is the biggest stadium in Italy.
But despite hosting three games at the 1934 World Cup finals, the opening ceremony and six games at the 1990 World Cup finals, four European Cup/Champions League finals in 1965, 1970, 2001 and 2016, plus the opening ceremony for the current Winter Olympics only last week, it has fallen behind many of its modern rivals.
Last November, Milan and Inter finalised the purchase of the stadium from the city council for €197million (£173m). They plan to demolish it and build a modern 71,500 capacity stadium designed by Populous/Manica on the site adjacent to it.
Construction is set to begin next year to be ready for the 2032 European Championship, which will be hosted jointly by Italy and Turkey.
Speaking at the time of the purchase, Milan chairman Paolo Scaroni said: “For us, this a historic moment. It has taken five or six years to reach this point, and we had great support from our owners RedBird. San Siro has been excluded by Uefa as a stadium for Euro 2032 – it simply doesn’t have all the facilities that are needed for modern football.
“We badly need a new stadium. We have always had a good relationship with Inter, so it makes sense to continue sharing the new stadium and split the costs of building and running it.”
The interior of the San Siro ahead of the match between AC Milan and Hellas Verona on December 28, 2025
The interior of the San Siro ahead of the match between AC Milan and Hellas Verona on December 28, 2025(Image: Alberto Gandolfo/BSR Agency/Getty Images)
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Everton’s 52,769 capacity Hill Dickinson Stadium is the newest venue in the Premier League.
The Blues played their first competitive match there on August 24 when they defeated Brighton & Hove Albion 2-0, having previously played at Goodison Park, the first purpose-built football ground in England and venue for the most top flight matches since 1892.
A delegation from AC Milan attended Everton’s fixture against Bournemouth on Tuesday (February 10) on what was a fact-finding mission as part of their wider intelligence gathering.
The officials from the Lombardy-based outfit were visiting to get insight into the Blues’ operational processes as they are involved in the project to build the new San Siro.
Everton top brass did likewise and visited Tottenham Hotspur and several other stadia when they were at a similar stage with their new stadium project, which was designed by US architect Dan Meis.