Inter Milan has confirmed that all 75,923 seats at the San Siro have been sold twice for Wednesday's Champions League opener against Real Madrid, with the second batch of ticket holders instructed to report to the stadium roof, where a temporary viewing platform has been bolted to the girders.
«We simply could not turn away a single Interista,» said club director Giuseppe Marotta in a statement. «The demand was historic, so we made the only logical choice: we sold the same seats again and built a second tier of supporters above the first.»
The club has installed 4,700 folding chairs on the roof's central span, each anchored with industrial cable and fitted with a personal rain poncho. Supporters assigned to the upper level will watch the match through a gap in the roof tiles, which grounds staff spent the weekend widening with angle grinders.
«I paid for a seat in the third ring, but they moved me to the roof,» said season ticket holder Luca Bianchi, 41, as he tested the tension on his safety harness. «The view is actually better, and I can hear the corner flags rustling.»
Additional fans have been offered standing room in the stadium's underground car park, where the club has installed 2,300 television monitors showing the live feed, along with a public address system timed to the match action. Club stewards will patrol the roof throughout the fixture, distributing hot broth and checking that no supporter leans too far over the parapet.
«We expect a full house, twice over,» Marotta added. «If we win, the roof will be the loudest place in Milan. If we lose, at least the fall is shorter.»