Inter is almost ready to present its plans for a new stadium, according to club president Moratti. The desire of Moratti to build an own stadium for the club is nothing new, however recent events have sped up the process and the president stated that important news will be presented in two or three months time.
Inter is currently playing its home matches at San Siro, a stadium it has shared with rivals AC Milan since 1945. The last renovation of the stadium dates from 1990 though, and time has had its effects on the colossus. What’s more is that San Siro is owned by the city of Milan, which limits the club in getting financial benefits from the stadium. A club-owned new stadium would solve this.
While vague plans have existed for some years now, the economic crisis prevented them from getting concrete and the club was forced to wait until the situation eased. This has now happened according to Moratti as he claims that a few interested parties have recently made their approach to the club. Among these parties is said to be an investment group from Qatar and a Chinese construction company Moratti recently met on a trip to China.
But no final decisions have been made yet as the club is still evaluating the options. For this they have hired Marco Fassone as a general director. Fassone was earlier in charge of Juventus’ new stadium project which led to the opening of the lauded Juventus Stadium last summer.
For inspiration of possible stadium designs the club is looking to London, more precisely the Emirates Stadium. According to newspaper Corriere dello Sport, Inter’s new stadium will have a similar look and feel as well as the same capacity of 60,000 seats.
Inter hopes to move into their new home in 2016, but building a new stadium in Italy is no easy task and thus far only Juventus has been able to get a new stadium off the ground. Other Serie A clubs that are looking to build a new stadium include AS Roma, Napoli, Cagliari, Palermo, and Catania.