Today a meeting was held in the Lombardy Region between the citizens' committees against the construction of the new stadiums of Inter and Milan , respectively, in Rozzano and San Donato , with the regional councilors, both from the majority and the minority.
Many topics were discussed, especially those concerning traffic and the environment. " The citizens' committees against the construction of the new stadiums of Milan and Inter in San Donato and Rozzano have confirmed all the critical issues that have emerged in recent months regarding these project hypotheses from an urban, traffic and environmental point of view - commented Marco Bestetti of Fratelli d'Italia after the meeting -. The alternative exists and it is to keep the teams in Milan in the Scala of football with a major redevelopment of the stadium to make it compliant with the most modern international standards and the legitimate expectations of the companies in terms of increased revenue. This solution is certainly the main road. Milan and Inter should abandon the fantasy projects of improbable cathedrals in the middle of the fields ".
But as mentioned, the meeting was attended by minority councilors. " The meeting revealed enormous environmental and traffic problems ," said the regional councilors of the Democratic Party Pietro Bussolati and Simone Negri . " We are concerned about the impact that one, or even two new stadiums, would have on the whole of Southern Milan . It would be paralysis for mobility ." " We believe the time has come for the Regional Council to express a clear political opinion and direction , both regarding the hypotheses of the new stadiums of San Donato and Rozzano, and regarding the future of San Siro. For this reason, " explained the group leader of the M5s Lombardy Nicola Di Marco , " we will propose a motion dedicated to the topic , so that the Regional Council can express its direction to the Executive Board." Also the councilor of the Alliance-Greens-Sinist Onorio Rosati asks that the Council take a position and give a positive opinion on the renovation of San Siro and no to new stadiums in San Donato and Rozzano.
The committees, speaking about the problems related to traffic and the environment, have underlined how the construction of new facilities would risk causing " incalculable damage to areas of great naturalistic value ". The area where the Inter stadium should be built , explained the representative of the No Stadium in Rozzano -Assago Committee Franco Davalle , is on the border with Assago and is a short distance from the Forum , the Repower Theatre , the Centro Direzionale Milano Fiori and the shopping centre . All centres that already attract tens of thousands of users to which would be added the 70,000 of the stadium with the feared risk of " bringing the current traffic system to collapse ". The identified area is also " of great naturalistic value " due to the presence of ditches and fountains with notable bio-diversity . " At the moment however - specifies the Committee - no formal act has been filed with the Municipality of Rozzano so the process is still in its early stages ".
The situation in San Donato is different according to the words of the representatives of the No Committee Innocente Curci and Marco Menichetti . There are many critical points of the project according to the Committee: the area is enclosed between the railway and the motorway and « a new important road system » would be necessary to connect it. On the public transport front « the essential extension of the MM3 from the current terminus to the San Francesco area and the strengthening of the railway station near the stadium are missing. Furthermore, the removal of approximately 1 million square metres of green area would cause incalculable damage to the environment in an area close to the Parco Agricolo Sud and of great naturalistic value ».