Story highlights
- AC Milan looking to build a new 48,000-seater stadium
- The club currently shares a stadium with fierce city rivals Inter
- The new stadium would cost $340 million and would open in 2018
(CNN)In the style capital of the world, AC Milan is looking to make a $340 million statement.
The famed football club, seven-time champions of Europe and 18-time Italian champions, has unveiled plans to build a new stadium in the Portello area of the city with the aim of relocating in time for the start of the 2018-19 season.
Italian clubs are looking to follow the example of Juventus, which opened its own super arena in 2011 on the site of the old Stadio delle Alpi. Roma also has a plans for a new stadium, while Udinese is currently renovating the Friuli stadium.
Many stadiums in the country are not privately owned by the teams.
Better stadia is seen by Italian clubs as a way to attracting more fans and thereby generate greater revenue to allow them to compete with their European counterparts.
Photos: The future of sports stadium architecture
Photos: The future of sports stadium architecture
National Olympic Stadium, Tokyo – Today's stadiums are architectural feats of design that can elevate the senses, capture the spirit of a community, and become an icon of the city long after a sports event ends. Celebrity Iraqi-born British architect, Zaha Hadid's design for the 2020 Olympic stadium in Tokyo won an international competition, but has received criticism. Japanese architect, Arata Isozaki described it as, "A turtle waiting for Japan to sink so that it can swim away." The 83-year-old warned: "Tokyo will surely be burdened with a gigantic white elephant." Not all new stadiums receive such objections.
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Photos: The future of sports stadium architecture
National Olympic Stadium, Tokyo – "While the New National Stadium in Tokyo will be used for the 2020 Olympic Games, the stadium is being built to host the widest variety of events in the future. Its first major international event will actually be as a venue for Japan's hosting of the 2019 Rugby World Cup -- the first country in Asia to host the event," said Jim Heverin, director at Zaha Hadid Architects which designed the arena. "The key to a successful stadium is to design for these long term requirements, rather than the one-off event such as the Olympics."
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Photos: The future of sports stadium architecture
Borisov Arena, Belarus – Here, the distinctive "spotty" Borisov Arena in Belarus is home to the country's football team. The space-age arena opened earlier this year and cost $37 million.
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Photos: The future of sports stadium architecture
Borisov Arena, Belarus – "The shape of the arena works perfectly both in terms of acoustics, as well as creating an introverted atmosphere," said designer Spela Videcnik, from Ofis Architects. "This introversion helps players to focus on a match, and the acoustics create a great supporting atmosphere."
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Photos: The future of sports stadium architecture
Amazon Arena, Brazil – Built for this year's World Cup in Manaus, Brazil, the Amazon Arena's reptilian facade was inspired by wildlife in the surrounding rainforest.
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Photos: The future of sports stadium architecture
Amazon Arena, Brazil – "If you look into the structures of nature like a leaf, or the skin of a snake, there's always a logical system behind it," explained stadium designer Hubert Nienhoff, of GMP Architects.
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Photos: The future of sports stadium architecture
Amazon Arena, Brazil – "We're not in direct dialogue with the supporters," said Nienhoff. "But we have to understand their social and cultural background, the region and its history. That way we capture the whole spirit of the place."
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Photos: The future of sports stadium architecture
Moses Mabhida Stadium, South Africa – Nienhoff also designed the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, for the 2010 South African World Cup.
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Photos: The future of sports stadium architecture
Moses Mabhida Stadium, South Africa – "The mayor asked us for something that would 'put Durban on the map,'" said Neinhoff.
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Photos: The future of sports stadium architecture
Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, Spain – His architecture firm is also behind the $500m redevelopment of Real Madrid's home -- the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.
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Photos: The future of sports stadium architecture
Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, Spain – "We were inspired by medieval cathedrals, with all their sculptures and paintings around the building telling their stories," architect Volkwin Marg told CNN.
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Photos: The future of sports stadium architecture
Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, Spain – Housing a retail area, restaurants and hotel among the attractions under its metallic membrane, the multipurpose arena will transform a stadium where construction began 70 years ago.
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Photos: The future of sports stadium architecture
Al-Wakrah Stadium, Qatar – Hadid's firm is also behind the 2020 World Cup stadium in Qatar. "The local Al Wakrah football team has been consulted throughout the design development by the client, as they will be the users of the stadium for generations after the 2020 Qatar World Cup," said Heverin.
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Photos: The future of sports stadium architecture
Al-Wakrah Stadium, Qatar – "There remains an ancient desire of humans to congregate together to watch others perform," said Jim Heverin, director at Zaha Hadid Architects. "So in many ways a stadium still needs to perform the same function as the Colosseum, and in many ways the success of future stadiums will be the ability to maintain the sense of collective congregation and a shared experience, whilst incorporating new demands."
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Photos: The future of sports stadium architecture
Luanda Multisports Pavilion, Angola – Shortlisted in the sports category at this year's World Architecture Festival, the Luanda Multisports Pavilion, in Angola may not appear particularly striking during the day...
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Photos: The future of sports stadium architecture
Luanda Multisports Pavilion, Angola – ... but at night its exterior panels light up in an ever-changing kaleidoscope of colors. "More important then capturing the spirit of a country or city, is to be able to read the dreams and hopes of its inhabitants," designers, Berger Architects, said of $90 million building.
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Photos: The future of sports stadium architecture
Singapore Sports Hub – Winner of the sports category at this year's World Architecture Festival, the $1.3 billion Singapore Sports Hub features a 55,000-seater stadium, swimming pool complex and water sports facilities.
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Photos: The future of sports stadium architecture
Singapore Sports Hub – "I don't think anyone had really designed a successful stadium for the tropics before," said architect Clive Lewis of Arup Assocites. "In the past, if they had a tropical rainstorm they pretty much had to cancel the event. And that's where the dome roof concept came from."
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Photos: The future of sports stadium architecture
Berlin Olympic Stadium, Germany – One of the biggest challenges for a stadium is to continue surviving the community long after a major sports event has ended. The Olympic Stadium in Berlin was originally constructed for the 1936 Games.
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Photos: The future of sports stadium architecture
Berlin Olympic Stadium, Germany – It was later redeveloped by GMP Architects and opened in 2004, eventually hosting games during the 2006 World Cup.
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Photos: Santiago Bernabeu: Back to the future
Photos: Santiago Bernabeu: Back to the future
The Bernabeu: Back to the future – How Real Madrid's new stadium is set to look.
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Photos: Santiago Bernabeu: Back to the future
The Bernabeu: Back to the future – A pedestrian circuit on the ground level of the stadium will give a pictorial and factual history of Real Madrid.
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Photos: Santiago Bernabeu: Back to the future
The Bernabeu: Back to the future – State-of-the-art technology will allow the stadium's exterior to replay the greatest moments in the illustrious history of the 13-time European champions.
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Photos: Santiago Bernabeu: Back to the future
The Bernabeu: Back to the future – German architect Volkwin Marg says one of the greatest challenges is to build such a stadium and complex within tight urban confines.
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Photos: Santiago Bernabeu: Back to the future
The Bernabeu: Back to the future – The metallic structure will encase a retail area, in addition to restaurants, a hotel, a club museum and of course the stadium itself.
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Photos: Santiago Bernabeu: Back to the future
The Bernabeu: Back to the future – Architectural firm Gerkan, Marg and Partners says the metallic skin will allow a changing perception of the arena by pedestrians 'depending on their position and movement.'
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Photos: Santiago Bernabeu: Back to the future
The Bernabeu: Back to the future – On 27 October 1944, legendary Real figure Santiago Bernabeu broke the ground on what is now the stadium that bears his name (reportedly against his wishes). In the 35 years of Bernabeu's presidency prior to his death in 1978, Real won 16 La Liga titles and 6 European Cups.
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Photos: Santiago Bernabeu: Back to the future
The Bernabeu: Back to the future – The Spanish football team bear their manager, Jose Villalonga, aloft to celebrate their victory in the 1964 European Nations Cup, when they beat the Soviet Union 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu.
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Photos: Santiago Bernabeu: Back to the future
The Bernabeu: Back to the future – The Santiago Bernabeu Cup was named in 1979 after the Madrid president following his death.
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Photos: Santiago Bernabeu: Back to the future
The Bernabeu: Back to the future – Pictured during the 1980s, the Santiago Bernabeu stadium reached a peak capacity of just over 120,000 in the 1950s -- although its record attendance, in 1956, was 129,690 for a European Cup semifinal against AC Milan.
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Photos: Santiago Bernabeu: Back to the future
The Bernabeu: Back to the future – Formidable security was in place ahead of the 1982 World Cup final at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
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Photos: Santiago Bernabeu: Back to the future
The Bernabeu: Back to the future – The match was won by Italy, which beat West Germany 3-1 in the only World Cup final the Bernabeu has ever hosted.
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Photos: Santiago Bernabeu: Back to the future
The Bernabeu: Back to the future – The Bernabeu has hosted four European Cup/Champions League finals. The most recent occasion was in 2010, when Diego Milito's brace helped Italians Inter defeat Bayern Munich 2-0.
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Photos: Santiago Bernabeu: Back to the future
The Bernabeu: Back to the future – Inter fans ahead of the final.
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Photos: Santiago Bernabeu: Back to the future
The Bernabeu: Back to the future – The view from the inside.
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Photos: Santiago Bernabeu: Back to the future
The Bernabeu: Back to the future – How the Bernabeu looks today...
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Photos: Santiago Bernabeu: Back to the future
The Bernabeu: Back to the future – ...and how it will look in the future, with its retractable roof closed.
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Photos: Santiago Bernabeu: Back to the future
The Bernabeu: Back to the future – Architect Volkwin Marg's company -- Gerkan, Marg and Partners -- designed stadiums for the last three World Cups and also worked on Warsaw's refurbished stadium for the Euro 2012 finals. GMP is working on the Bernabeu alongside Spanish company L35 Ribas.
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Milan's move would see the Rossoneri leave the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium it has shared with fierce rivals Inter since 1947.
Design firm Arup is behind the proposed 48,000-seater stadium, which will be sunk 10 meters into the ground so as not to overly disrupt the landscape of the area.
Arup were behind Bayern Munich's Allianz Arena and the Bird's Nest stadium in Beijing, built for the 2008 Olympic Games.
A statement released on Milan's website also claimed the stadium would use the "latest technology and sound-proof materials" to minimize the noise heard in the surrounding areas.
Inter's president Erick Thohir has expressed his desire to see his club move into a stadium of its own.
Design consultants Manica has released concepts of a new home for Inter on its website.
