HISTORY

In 1925, President of A.C. Milan Piero Pirelli called for the construction of a soccer stadium near the Hippodrome for Trotting Races .

The structure, as designed by the engineer Alberto Cugini and the architect Ulisse Stacchini, is made up of four back straight bleachers, one of which is partially covered, and can contain up to 35,000 spectators.

After buying the stadium, the City of Milan started a first round of renovations in 1935 that led to the construction of four connecting curves between the bleachers, with an increase in the capacity of the two front ones. The renovations, supervised by the engineer Bertera and architect Perlasca, provided the people of Milan a stadium with 55.000 seats.

The Stadium was built to host mainly Milan’s matches of A.C. Milan, but in 1947-1948 it became the home of Inter as well.

The second round of renovations, designed by the engineer Ferruccio Calzolari and the architect Armando Ronca, drastically altered the appearance of the stadium in 1955: a supporting structure was built ​​for a second level of bleachers that stood over and partly covered the old ones. The total capacity increased to 100,000 seats; later, because of safety measures, it was reduced to 85,000, divided between seating (about 60,000) and standing.

The architectural image of the stadium was modernized by the helicoal ramps that allow access to the second level. The illumination system that continues to allow night matches was implemented in 1957, with the electric scoreboard added ten years after that.

In 1980, this “Temple of Soccer” was named “Giuseppe Meazza” to honor the unforgettable Milanese player who played both for Inter and AC Milan and was a two-time World Champion with the Italian national team.

In 1990, on the occasion of the World Cup, the City of Milan decided to work on a deep renovation of the stadium, discarding the idea of building a new structure.

Architects Giancarlo Ragazzi, Henry Hoffer and the engineer Leo Finzi opted to implement a solution architecturally striking by constructing a third level and covering up all the seats. Their plan was to place independent backings for the new level all around the existing stadium.

They built eleven new cylindrical towers in reinforced concrete that contained a number of facilities and allowed access to the bleachers. Four of these towers still supply support to the roofing system.

The color of the seats marks the sections of the stadium: red and orange for the back straight bleachers; green and blue for the curves. The 85.700 seats are covered by polycarbonate slabs for spectator comfort.

The game field remains uncovered, allowing the matches to take place with natural light and weather conditions. A new lighting system has been installed, as well as a new heating system for the grass keeping its temperature constantly controlled, preventing the ground from freezing.

On June 8th, the stadium hosted the opening of the World Cup 1990: Argentina – Camerun. The “Temple of Soccer” is now the home of thousands of fans, hosting an average of two matches a week during the sport season.