SAN SIRO SPORTS PALACE, 40 YEARS AGO THE COLLAPSE OF THE HOME OF CYCLING (AND MORE)

HISTORY | 17/01/2025 | 08:25
di Alessandro Brambilla
It's the evening of January 17, 1985, and the mega snowfall delivers a terrible blow to cycling and Italian sports in general. Around 10 PM, the weight of the snow causes a severe collapse of the transverse support pillars of the San Siro Sports Palace, and the roof simultaneously caves in. The Sports Palace suddenly becomes unusable. Exactly 40 years ago, Italy lost what was called the "big snail" due to its architecture, but it was a jewel of functionality for cycling and many other disciplines.
On the same evening, the snow damaged most of the nearby Vigorelli Velodrome's coverage, an facility owned by the Municipality of Milan. To fix the "Vigo", the coverage was removed and replaced in a relatively short time. The "Palace" of San Siro was owned by CONI, exactly like the Olympic Stadium in Rome. The then CONI Secretary General, Mario Pescante (who later became president) and other managers were forced to surrender: the Sports Palace was demolished. The Palace was the right facility in the right place. It was built by the Italian Water Pipelines Company and inaugurated in January 1976 with a multi-sport exhibition.
In February of that year, it hosted the first Six Days won by Moser and Sercu. The facility located next to the San Siro Football Stadium (renamed Giuseppe Meazza on March 2, 1980) was beautiful. Two stands with a total of 13,500 seats, another 3,000 standing places in the two curves. During the Six Days, evening attendance reached twenty thousand because there were numerous spectators standing in corridors and stairs: regulations were very different from current ones.
And in the parterre, the expensive yet highly coveted restaurant operated: hundreds and hundreds of sports enthusiasts, even those with little cycling knowledge, crowded the parterre. On the 250-meter track at the Six Days after Moser-Sercu, Felice Gimondi and Rik Van Linden ('77), Moser-Pijnen ('78, '79, '83, '84), again Moser - Sercu ('81), Saronni-Sercu ('80), Saronni – Pijnen ('82) prevailed. The show of those Six Days was of high standard: each pair was composed of a big road cycling star, even a winner of major stage races, and a strong velodrome specialist.
A good percentage of the tables in the center of the track were occupied by VIPs and company invitees. The presence of footballers, drivers, tennis players, and representatives of other sports was frequent. At the 1983 Six Days, for example, the then Inter president, Ivanoe Fraizzoli, had Beppe Bergomi, Alessandro Altobelli, and Riccardo Ferri at his table. In the parterre, besides cycling champions, it was normal to meet Paolo Rossi, Gianni Rivera, Sandro Mazzola, Hansi Muller, Oscar Damiani, and many other footballers. Ernesto Pellegrini, from January 1984 to February 1995, Inter president, for many years was a pair sponsor at the Six Days with the brands of his catering companies. In particular, Pellegrini sponsored the Frank-Svendsen pair. The elegant Paola Poggi was there, posing for photos in the riders' dressing room area. Patron Belloni of Termozeta was pleased with Sylva Koscina's presence at his table.
It was jet-set superior to the Giro d'Italia, and the entertainment show between one cycling race and another was a great success. Heater Parisi, Carmen Russo, Walter Chiari, ABBA, and many other stars participated in shows presented by Mike Bongiorno, Pippo Baudo, and especially Daniele Piombi. Ilona Staller's show at the 1983 Six Days caused a huge sensation. The Hungarian porn star appeared on stage greeting her "little loves" and bringing the snake "Pito Pito" (a real python specimen, clearly somewhat chloroformed), surrounded by dancers, she began burning flags of some nations and then undressed. Yes, even from the waist down. She passed the Pito Pito snake right underneath. At that point, the Police Commissioner burst onto the stage and covered her with his jacket. Then other Police and Carabinieri officers intervened.
A huge uproar was created with Cicciolina arrested for obscene acts in a public place. An extremely embarrassed Daniele Piombi with the microphone tried to act as a firefighter and defuse the tension. "Six Days, from stars to Staller", headlined the "La Notte", the Milanese afternoon newspaper. In another edition, the dancers accompanying Lara Saint Paul stripped, however, only on the upper part. In that case, the topless after midnight was tolerated and did not become a scandal. The author of this text was a speaker at the Six Days and guarantees that the atmosphere of those editions at the Sports Palace is unrepeatable in the world of cycling. There is no Olympic or World Track event capable of matching such a high and varied number of spectators. For obvious reasons, the event at the Sports Palace had nothing to do with World Cup or World Championship trials. Actors and politicians would do anything to be invited to show themselves to the heterogeneous audience.
In addition to the cycling Six Days, the Sports Palace hosted Italian Indoor Track Championships, European Omnium and American events (the term "madison" was not in vogue). Other sports particularly damaged by the demolition of the Sports Palace were track and field, basketball, and volleyball. The 200-meter easily removable athletics track of the Sports Palace hosted international events. Pallacanestro Milano (today's Armani) played its home matches in San Siro. Great tennis, fencing, martial arts, world boxing challenges, rhythmic and artistic gymnastics, even equestrian completions and motocross competitions and "Games without Borders" were held in the Sports Palace.
And of course, concerts, New Year's parties, political and industrial conventions. Being a CONI structure, the Palace was equipped with various gyms and Federation offices. The FCI had the "Prof", its organizational division. Giovanni Michelotti, Nino Recalcati, Giuseppe Figini, and others in January 1985 were busy organizing the Six Days that would take place in February. Since January 17, 1985, Milan no longer has its indoor velodrome. And it risks being an eternal void: in the Santa Giulia district, they are building a Sports Palace that will serve for the 2026 Winter Olympics. It's a large facility, however, the cycling track is not there. Not even a disappearing one.