Tuesday 7 July 2015 23:07, UK
AC Milan have been given the green light to build a new stadium in the north of the city.
The seven-time European champions had submitted plans for a new 48,000 capacity stadium in the Portello region of Milan and - after six months of negotiations - the city administrators have given the plans for the £250m development their approval.
Vice president Barbara Berlusconi told the Football Italia website: “This is the first historic step to make Milan like London. It is the first step, as we still need to present the entire project to the institutions for approval.
"Ours is first of all a cultural challenge. It is for Milan that we are proposing an urban stadium, to favour the development of the area that will host us, make it more secure and a symbol for the city, to completely change the mentality of those who come to the stadium by providing services and moments of entertainment that go beyond the 90 minutes of the game.
"London too has urban stadiums that are reached via the underground system and allowed the improvement of areas where they were constructed.
“It is also indispensable to develop the commercial power of the club. The stadium will bring from 50-80 million euros per year. These are resources that can also be used to buy new players.”
Seven-time European Cup winners Milan have played in their current home, the San Siro, since the 1920s and, after selling the ground to the city of Milan, began sharing with local rivals Inter in 1947.
The original project - which is scheduled to be ready for the 2018-19 season - would include a hotel, educational facilities, restaurants and offices.
