Milan and Inter are pressing ahead with the new San Siro to a timetable that would see the stadium completed in the summer of 2031, 12 months before Italy co-hosts Euro 2032 with Turkey, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport.
The tournament is projected to generate a turnover of €10bn, and neither club wants Milano left off the list of host cities. The old Meazza has no chance of being selected among Italy's five stadiums, failing to meet many of UEFA's standards, so the entire case for the city rests on the new build going up on schedule.
The timetable, now mapped out in detail, leaves little margin. Administrative sign-off and financial coverage must be finalised by early October, construction must begin by March 2027, and the stadium must be delivered by the summer of 2031, a year before the first match. Miss any of those markers and Milano's candidacy is at risk.
There is a legal hurdle still to clear first. The Lombardy Regional Administrative Court is hearing appeals against the €197m sale of the stadium to the two clubs, with a ruling expected between August and September. From 2028, the bulldozers are set to move for three years straight until the work is done, and from 2032 the site of the current ground would be transformed, beginning with the demolition of the old San Siro.
Running parallel to all of this is the federation's own deadline. By 1 October, the FIGC must tell UEFA which five Italian cities and candidate stadiums it is putting forward, with some reservations possible.
Gazzetta reports no concern inside either club's headquarters, only more determination to follow each step of the plan to the letter, with room built in for the appeals and setbacks expected to come. Both are aware this is the most delicate part of the project, precisely because the schedule allows no slippage.
There is a reveal coming sooner than the groundwork. Milan and Inter are expected to unveil the design of the new San Siro as early as October, before preparatory work on the future construction site begins.
The paperwork and the court ruling come first, and until the Lombardy TAR clears the €197m sale, the countdown to 2031 cannot properly start.