AC Milan have unveiled plans for a new stadium, to be located in the centre of the city, reports, www.sportspromedia.com/. The first renderings of the new arena have been produced by Arup and Italian architect Emilio Faroldi.
AC Milan said it envisaged a total investment of between 300 and 320 million to build the new stadium, which would replace the ageing city-owned San Siro it currently shares with Internazionale.
The project also includes a hotel, restaurants, a sports college and open spaces dedicated to public use.
Arup has used a parametric tool to 'guarantee the best possible view from every location in the stadium'. A moveable roof, designed to protect the local area from noise pollution, is also included in the plans, which still must be approved by city officials.
AC Milan have taken design cues from Arsenal's Emirates Stadium in London, plus venues in Basel, Bilbao and Neuchatel, according to Barbara Berlusconi, an AC Milan board member and daughter of owner Silvio Berlusconi.
"We approached the project developing the basic themes of this work: we talking about environmental sustainability, the concept of a smart urban arena that is easily reached by public transport, and it is low impact," explained Emilio Faroldi, a professor of architectural technology at the department of architecture, construction engineering and building environment at the Polytechnic of Milan.
"A stadium, also, that identifies itself more like a building, like a piece of the city , and not as a business machine to be activated exclusively for a sporting event once a week."
Faroldi added: "Scientific research, through a series of studies, tells us clearly that the role of the arenas in Europe and in the world is gradually changing. The stadiums are no longer meant only as a place for sporting events, although open all week, but as a useful piece to reorder the urban outlook of a city, a neighbourhood."
