Barcelona only got two games left to play at Iconic Camp Nou, before moving out to their temporary home as the Espai Barca project has received approval from the authorities.
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Espai Barca
El Espai Barca, which translates to “The Space of Barcelona,” is a project established to renovate all of FC Barcelona’s facilities. According to Barcelona officials, the 35-hectare project will be a massive upgrade to the club’s revenue in the future.
Check out the official video of the Espai Barca project
Barcelona needs Espai Barca because the club’s last reconstruction was 63 years ago and it has several gaps in terms of comfort, hospitality facilities, seating capacity, and so on. Further, due to numerous architectural obstacles that decrease its financial value, Barca Campus is completely detached from the rest of the Les Corts neighbourhood.
Affected Locations
There are four main institutes that Barcelona are trying to upgrade and remodel during the project.
- Johan Cruyff Stadium
In accordance with sustainability requirements, the club intends to raise seating capacity to 6000 with contemporary and efficient facilities using the smart stadium criteria.
- Future Camp Nou
A covered stadium with the latest technology for 105,000 spectators.
First stand will not be changed while a new third stand is proposed.
The VIP ring of the first tier will be placed higher while the independent double ring will increase the capacity of VIP booths in order to improve revenue.
- Campus Barca
Campus Barca will serve as a green space with new sporting and entertainment experiences. It’ll include meeting points for sporting activities, play areas for children, fountains and recreational areas for both visitors and locals. In addition, this will improve mobility and safety on matchdays.
- New Palau Blaugrana
Club plans to increase its seating capacity from 10,000 to 15,000 to host both sporting and cultural events.
History
- In 2003, the first board of directors under Laporta, proposed to remodel the Camp Nou.
- The Norman Foster project was approved in 2007.
- In 2010, the new board of Sandro Rosell abandoned the project.
- Espai Barca was approved in 2014, through a referendum.
- In 2016, NIKKI SIKKEI received the tender to design the stadium.
- The General Metropolitan plan was approved by the Barcelona City Council and Generalist de Catalunya in 2017/18.
- With the votes of 87.8% socios, Espai Barca received its official approval from the club in 2021 and is all set to undergo after this season.
Major Benefits for Fans
The main beneficiaries of the project will be its fans. The project intends to uplift comfort in stadiums with 50cm wide seats and 360° visual comfort. Moreover, the new covering will make sure that fans are protected from rain and wind, while it also helps to enhance interior sounds.
There will be 10 elevators and escalators which will improve the accessibility and mobility within the stadium.
Increasing accessibility for people with reduced mobility is another key aspect of Espai Barca. Therefore we will have new spaces adapted for people with reduced mobility and functional diversity.
Financial Info
The estimated investment will cost €1.5b and will be distributed as follows.
- Johan Cruyff Stadium – €20m
- Future Camp Nou – €900m
- New Palau Blaugrana – €420m
- Urbanization/Campus – €100m
- MPGM Investment – €60m
The club’s finances project an annual profit of €250m once the project is completed. Expected profits will be received as follows.
- 24% from Hospitality
- 24% from Partnerships and Naming Rights
- 15% from Museum and Visits
- 22% from Ticketing and Catering
- 15% from Meeting and Events
Our Thoughts
As we look into the sporting projects done by our rival clubs in recent times, we believe Espai Barca will be vital for Barcelona to stay competitive in Europe.
At the moment, there are 67 stadiums in Europe that are more modern than Camp Nou. Out of them, 58 have been modernized after 2003, where 13 of them coming from Spain itself.
From what we have seen in transfer market in the last 3 years, we always had financial troubles that indirectly affected in numerous European collapses. Therefore guaranteeing a massive income closer to €250m will be instrumental to stay competitive in future transfers and hopefully that will help us to improve our trophy galore as well.
So what do you think about Espai Barca? Comment Below.
