San Siro sale faces civil challenge, but contract remains in force

The November 2025 sale of San Siro and its surrounding land is now being challenged in court, putting a legal question over the ground at the centre of Inter and AC Milan’s stadium plans. But the case is a request to invalidate the contract, not a ruling that the sale was unlawful.

A. G. Orlando filed the civil action on 10 August 2026 as an elector of the Municipality of Milan. The case invokes Article 9 of Legislative Decree 267/2000, which allows municipal electors, in circumstances set out by law, to pursue legal actions or appeals belonging to the municipality.

The defendants include Stadio San Siro S.p.A., the company controlled by the two clubs through which the acquisition was completed, as well as the Municipality of Milan, Inter, AC Milan and the notary who handled the transaction. Orlando is seeking a declaration that the sale contract is null.

That contract was signed on 5 November 2025, transferring the Giuseppe Meazza stadium and surrounding areas from the city to Stadio San Siro S.p.A. The first hearing is scheduled for 15 April 2027. Until a court rules, the challenge does not establish that the acquisition will be overturned.

The legal dispute matters because the sale is part of the clubs’ plan to replace the current ground with a new stadium. First images of the project, designed by Foster + Partners and Manica, are expected by the end of the month. The plan is for the new venue to be ready for the 2032 European Championship.

For now, the court timetable leaves the clubs’ broader stadium plan facing a legal challenge, not a decision against it. The first hearing next April will put the contract’s validity before the court; it will not, by itself, determine the outcome of the case.