Football Industry

Generali Stadium: a 650 million sponsor for Milan and Inter’s new stadium

Generali has secured the naming rights to Milan’s new stadium for 25 years under a deal worth 26 million a year. The company said: “Generali Stadium will be a new symbol of Milan, and through our commitment we wish to express our confidence in the continued progress of the city and the whole country.”

by Marco Bellinazzo

29 October 2026

Aggiungi Il Sole 24 Ore
ai preferiti su Google

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

The new stadium in Milan will bear the Generali brand. The Trieste-based insurance company has reached an agreement with the joint venture formed by Milan and Inter to acquire the naming rights to the new stadium for a total of 650 million euros over 25 years, amounting to an average annual value of around 26 million. The agreement represents one of the key elements of the strategy to maximise the value of the new stadium shared by the two clubs, which is regarded as a vital asset for boosting revenue and narrowing the gap between Italian football and the leading international leagues.

Il nuovo stadio Generali Stadium
Photogallery14 foto

A synergy that works

On the Rossoneri side, the project has been backed by RedBird Capital Partners, which has owned the club since August 2022. On the Nerazzurri side, the project has been driven forward primarily following Oaktree Capital Management’s takeover of Inter in May 2024.

The agreement marks the culmination of a project strongly championed by Gerry Cardinale, founder and managing partner of RedBird Capital Partners, who, ever since the acquisition of Milan, had identified the construction of a new stadium as a strategic priority for the club’s future. Having initially pursued an independent project, in 2024 Cardinale brought in Inter’s new North American owners, laying the foundations for a partnership set to transform the future of Italian football, drawing on his decades of experience in the development and commercialisation of sports infrastructure. Before RedBird was founded, Cardinale spent around twenty years at Goldman Sachs and helped establish the YES Network alongside the New York Yankees. Cardinale subsequently played a part in the project for the new Yankee Stadium and spearheaded the launch of Legends, a company specialising in the marketing and management of sports and entertainment venues, established in partnership with the New York Yankees and the Dallas Cowboys.

Similarly, on the institutional front, Paolo Scaroni, chairman of AC Milan and Enel, has been overseeing the progress of the stadium project since as far back as 2019, forging a relationship with Generali.

On the Inter front, the club’s management – led by chairman Giuseppe Marotta and, above all, the new owners Oaktree, who took over from Suning in 2024 – has given a strong boost to the process of establishing a partnership with the Rossoneri, to the establishment of the joint structure responsible for developing the new stadium, and has helped bring about the historic agreement on naming rights.

“When we became owners of Inter, we set ourselves the goal of charting a clear course for the club’s sustainable growth and success,” said a spokesperson for Oaktree, part of Brookfield’s credit platform, during the presentation of the plans for Inter and Milan’s new San Siro stadium at the Castello Sforzesco in Milan on 29 October. “We are taking an important step on this journey, and it is an exciting moment for both teams, their supporters and the city of Milan. Foster + Partners and Manica’s vision for the Generali Stadium and the urban regeneration project will preserve the atmosphere and spirit of San Siro, whilst creating a new iconic home for football.”

Economic value

The deal places the Milan-based project at the very top end of the international market for this type of sponsorship. By way of comparison, the contract for the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles is worth around $31 million a year, that for the SoFi Stadium $28 million, whilst the recent agreement between Spotify and Camp Nou stands at around €20 million a year. The Allianz-Juventus deal is worth around 15 million (though it also includes other minor assets covered by the sponsorship), the one between Signal Iduna and Borussia Dortmund is worth 10, and the Riyadh Air deal with Atlético Madrid is worth 9.5 million a year.

San Siro compie 100 anni: come sarà il nuovo stadio

From an industrial perspective, the contract with Generali confirms a well-established trend in the major international sports markets: stadiums are no longer regarded solely as venues for sporting competitions, but as multifunctional platforms capable of generating revenue through sponsorship, hospitality, corporate events, concerts and entertainment activities. The financial aspect of the agreement highlights the market’s expectations that the new stadium in Milan will become one of Europe’s most significant sports and entertainment assets, helping to strengthen the long-term economic competitiveness of Inter and Milan.

Generali’s satisfaction

In a joint statement, Andrea Sironi, Chairman, and Philippe Donnet, Group CEO of Generali, expressed their satisfaction: “The new stadium in Milan will strengthen the city’s role as one of Italy’s major, globally recognised venues. Generali has always represented Italia on the world stage, which is why we chose to partner, right from the start of this exciting project, with two Italian clubs that boast a large international following. The Generali Stadium will be a new symbol of Milan, and through our commitment we wish to express our confidence in the continued progress of the city and the whole country, and our desire to contribute to a lasting legacy for future generations. At Generali, we promote sport as a means of well-being, inclusion and growth for people and communities, both in Italia and in the more than 50 countries where we operate. That is why our role goes far beyond the stadium’s name: we want to be part of every emotion, every experience that will bring it to life.”