German live entertainment giant CTS Eventim has announced plans to build a new multi-purpose arena in Milan, northern Italy.

Scheduled for completion in 2025, the 16,000-capacity MSG (Milano Santa Giulia) arena will be one of the largest in Italy and will also include an outdoor area of more than 10,000 square metres for open-air events.

Construction is due to begin in autumn 2022 and investment over the duration of the project will amount to around €180 million.

Initially, the arena – part of the Milano Santa Giulia urban development project – will be used for the 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic games after which CTS will continue to operate it.

The venue will compete with Oak View Group and Live Nation’s Santa Giulia Arena – which will also be utilised in the Olympics – as well as the 12,700-seat Mediolanum Forum in Assago, near Milan, which has served the city since 1990 and is one of two Italian members of the European Arena Association (EAA).

“OUR NEW ARENA IN MILAN WILL BE A MUST-PLAY FOR ALL MAJOR TOURS”

An older open-air venue, the 10,000-capacity Arena Civica, which opened in 1807, is also capable of hosting concerts, as is the 80,000-cap. San Siro stadium.

Klaus-Peter Schulenberg, CEO of CTS Eventim, says: “Our work as venue operators is one of the outstanding success stories of CTS Eventim. We are very much looking forward to this new project, which will enable us to bring our expertise in the management of top international venues and the live entertainment business to bear.

“Our new arena in Milan will be a must-play for all major tours, and we will also be able to offer top events from the Eventim portfolio to the region around Milan and beyond in our own arena through the four Italian promoters in our Eventim Live promoter network. This is another excellent addition to our value chain.”

CTS Eventim’s venue portfolio also includes the Lanxess Arena (cap. 18,000) in Cologne, the KB Hallen (4,500) in Copenhagen, the Waldbühne (22,290) in Berlin and the Eventim Apollo (2,500) in London.

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