CFD Wind Analysis of the new Stadium of San Siro in Milan

The actual Stadium

San Siro, officially known as Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy, which is the home of A.C. Milan and Internazionale. It has a seating capacity of 75,923, making it one of the largest stadiums in Europe, and the largest in Italy.

Actual Stadium

On 3 March 1980, the stadium was named in honour of Giuseppe Meazza, the two-time World Cup winner (1934, 1938) who played for Inter and briefly for Milan in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s and served two stints as Inter’s manager.

San Siro is a UEFA category four stadium. It hosted three games at the 1934 FIFA World Cup, six games at the 1990 FIFA World Cup, three games at the UEFA Euro 1980, and four European Cup finals, in 1965, 1970, 2001 and 2016. 

Later, the stadium will also host the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics of Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.

A new San Siro Stadium

On 24 June 2019, AC Milan and Internazionale announced their intention to build a new stadium to replace San Siro. The new 60,000 capacity stadium, which would be constructed next to San Siro, is anticipated to cost US$800 million and would be ready for the 2022–23 season. The Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, United States is apparently the base for the design of the new stadium.

Giuseppe Sala, the current Mayor of Milan, and the comune of Milan asked for time and requested to keep the San Siro until at least the 2026 Winter Olympics and Winter Paralympics.

We also have to notice that several fans of both teams welcome with some skepticism and opposition the proposed project.

On 26 September 2019, A. C. Milan and Internazionale released two potential designs for the new stadium next to the original ground. They are tentatively named the Nuovo Stadio Milano, designed by Populous and MANICA, respectively. On 22 May 2020, Italy’s heritage authority raised no objections to demolishing San Siro.

CFD Wind Analysis

In recent years we are witnessing a growing interest in the design of new Stadiums. A 3D Computational Fluid Dynamics software represents the best tool. It is at the disposal of the structural engineers for evaluating the wind load, for instance, on the roof.

Moreover, the design of a new Stadium also becomes an opportunity to redevelop the neighborhood, by generating areas intended for recreational activities, such as gardens, outdoor bars and restaurants, and spaces for amateur sport activities. Maximizing the pedestrian wind comfort is becoming a requirement that has to be met by Architects and Urban Planners.

You may see below a video about the CFD Wind Analysis of the new Stadio di San Siro in Milan designed by Sportium and David Manica.

Vento CFD carried out the CFD analysis with theVENTO AEC software.

We thank Aldo Giordano of iDEAS, partner of Sportium, for allowing us to use the 3D model.

People, at Vento CFD, are leaders in CFD innovation. The whole setup took less than one hour, including the generation of the 51M cell grid. They know that this is hard to believe. But it is true, and it is based on 30+ years of CFD R&D.

For more information, contact us.