THE SAN SIRO

The San Siro stadium is named after the saint in whose honour a small local church was dedicated. It was a gift from Piero Pirelli (AC Milan's club president from 1909-1929) to his beloved city of Milan.  

The original San Siro was a typically English construction consisting of four grandstands with a maximum capacity of 35,000 spectators. 10,000 quintals of cement, 3,500 cubic metres of sand and 1,500 quintals of iron rods were used to build the stadium. 80 kilogrammes of chalk were used to mark out the pitch.

The first match played in the new stadium was a friendly against none other than local rivals Inter on September 19th 1926; it finished 6-3 to the visitors. The stadium hosted its first championship game on October 6th with Milan again losing (2-1 to Sampierdarenese) and its first international was held on February 20, 1927 when Italy drew 2-2 with Czechoslovakia. The San Siro was home solely to Milan until the end of 1945; Inter played their home games at the "Arena Napoleonica."

Football's very own "Scala" has had its fair share of refurbishments on the road to becoming the impressive structure it is today. The major changes took place between 1938 and 1939 with an increase in the capacity to 50,000 spectators, between 1954 and 1956 with the construction of the second tier and most recently in 1990 when a third tier was added.

In 1935 Milan bought the ground from the local council and three years later decided to enlarge it. Football was becoming a big spectator sport and the San Siro needed to increase its capacity. The development project was overseen by architect Rocca and chief engineer Calzolari. Utilising the same supporting structure a system of fitted steps were built with flights leading up with entry from outside.

The capacity was originally 150,000, but the city council issued a decree reducing it to 100,000 in 1952.The re-modernised stadium was officially opened on May 31, 1939 when Italy played out a 2-2 draw with England. Gate receipts were 1.2 million lira. Work on the new ground finished in 1939 at a cost of 5.1 million lira.

The second phase of expansion began in 1954 and officially finished twelve months later on October 26, 1955, raising the capacity to 85,000. Floodlights were installed for the first time in 1957 and ten years later an electronic scoreboard was added. In 1979 the floodlights were replaced with more modern ones and the second tier was repaired.

On March 3, 1980 a stone at the entrance to the ground was engraved with the name Giuseppe Meazza, one of Inter's greats, who had died the previous year. In 1986 the first tier was filled with numbered and colour-coded seats: red in the main stand, orange in the opposite stand, green behind the north goal and blue where the Milan hardcore fans gathered.

The latest phase of modernisation took place for the World Cup in 1990. The third tier was erected after many months of hard work; the official opening took place on April 25, 1990. Eleven outside towers (inside were flights of steps leading up to the next level) held the weight of the top tier and the framework of the roof. The roof was covered with translucent polycarbonate panels. The second and third tiers were also filled with numbered and colour-coded seats.

The pitch dimensions are 105 metres long by 68 metres wide and the stadium is situated near the racecourse, around 6 kilometres from the centre of Milan.

The San Siro is a symbol of Milan just as the Scala and Duomo are, but it draws its world fame not only from football as it has hosted a wide range of events throughout its history.

There was the World Junior Welterweight title re-match between Duilio Loi and Carlos Ortis on September 1, 1960 which drew a crowd of 53,043, of which 8,000 were ringside. The stadium was floodlit with the ring set up in the middle of the pitch. The gate receipts were 130 million lira. The Italian won the bout.

The stadium has also played host to a series of "historical" concerts. Bob Marley played his one and only Italian concert on a stage at the north end of the ground on June 27, 1980. The chance to see the Jamaican singer live drew a crowd of 90,000 - similar to that of a derby game. There was the same rush for tickets when Bruce Springsteen played there in 1985.

Three years ago, the main stand hosted an outdoor summer disco. Today, there is a museum behind the south stand (curva sud) that looks back over the history of both Milan and Inter, housing mementoes and souvenirs of personalities that have helped write the stadium's rich history.