Albertini: “The teams will leave Milan: the picture is irreparable”
“The situation has deteriorated beyond repair. The teams will probably leave Milan and the picture that emerges is dramatic”. The former mayor of Milan Gabriel Albertini is quite critical about stadium match management. “The current junta and the green Taliban, the prince’s true advisors, thought the problem could be solved by always postponing the decision”, comments Albertini in an interview with Affaritaliani.it Milan quoting the metaphor of Chomsky’s boiled frog, which when immersed in boiling water immediately jumps out of the pot, but if placed in slowly heated cold water it adapts until it inevitably ends up exhausted and boiled. “Instead of Sala I would have behaved as I did with the waste-to-energy plants, purifiers and skyscrapers. I would have listened to everyone, then, however, I would have decided against the green Taliban” continues the former mayor who rejects the idea of building another stadium also in the San Siro district, near the Meazza: “It is absurd, a dilapidated building would be kept standing which could only be used for a few major events all ‘year”.
Albertini, why have we reached this point?
A Latin saying comes to mind, ‘Aut deus aut dies’, according to which when there is an intricate or controversial political problem, it is either God or the passing days that solve it. The postponement of the decision on the teams’ proposal, broadening the consultation with the public debate, has led to a picture of general uncertainty. And in the end, even the Superintendency has adapted to the state of things, giving a signal that rings out like a death knell. The worst thing anyone invested with popular consent can do is not decide.
So how will this end?
The picture that emerges is dramatic. The Meazza will no longer be exploited and will remain unused and unusable. There may be concerts, but big events, such as concerts by Vasco Rossi or Bruce Springsteen, can be counted on the fingers of one hand in a year. And the maintenance would be destined to absorb huge resources of the Municipality. But the current administration has made another colossal mistake.
Which?
In the meantime, it must be said that the rendering of the ‘Cathedral’, the initial project of Milan and Inter, was infinitely more beautiful than that shameful San Siro which I find extremely ugly, even if we are all linked to that facility from emotional and youthful memories. But above all in that area there would have been an investment of over one and a half billion euros. It would have been the continuation of the polycentric Milan born during our watch shift. In the San Siro district there is not only the stadium but also areas such as Piazza Selinunte which could have grown and developed with this redevelopment.
After the constraint of the Superintendency, those who would like to redevelop the Meazza have returned to office.
Redevelopment would be bad. Modern football is made up of digital, television, audiovisual content. A stadium of that type with 80,000 seats is absolutely obsolete. Evil would be to keep standing a monument of this size which is neither fish nor fowl. It is often thought that the old, for being old, is better than the new. But the Berninis and Brunelleschis are still there today. It seems to me not a Milanese way of thinking: this city was the outpost of modernity and even modern architecture can have a monumental value. As a Milanese, I am baffled by this inability to decide. And the city will pay the bill.
If it had been you at Palazzo Marino, how would you have managed it?
As I did with the waste-to-energy plants, purifiers and skyscrapers. I would have listened to everyone but I would have decided against the green Taliban. During my mandates we built skyscrapers even if a clear minority of citizens protested. Then when they realized that 250,000 Milanese were receiving electricity and heat at a discounted price thanks to the waste-to-energy plants, many changed their minds. I would have done what the teams wanted with a few corrections and I would have raised a billion and a half in capital by regenerating an abandoned area as we did with the 11 million square meters of industrial areas that we have redeveloped and which are considered the glory of Milan.
And in the current situation how would it behave?
With this constraint from the Superintendence we start uphill, but we could try. First of all, I would try to be appointed special commissioner. Even when we restored La Scala, they threw everything at me before changing their minds. You have to know how to do things and I’m surprised that Sala, who is a manager, has flattened out on harmful positions.
In any case, the constraint of the Superintendency would have complicated everything anyway.
Even when I was mayor there was the Superintendency which had to express itself on various things but we were determined to carry forward our vision to do the good of the city regardless of the green Taliban. The Superintendent is not God, we would have contested the decision by also calling the government into question if necessary. But all this had to be done first. I am convinced that if the administration had taken a position right away, the Superintendency would not have opted for this decision which represents a further boulder for the city. We had a great opportunity: the ‘Cathedral’ would win modern architecture awards for how beautiful its design was.
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