BarcelonaThe retailers and restaurateurs of Les Corts, especially those closest to the Camp Nou, are mostly concerned about the Espai Barça project, the financing of which will be voted on this Sunday in a telematic referendum among Barça members. “In general, all the residents are a bit in limbo because there is uncertainty about the future of Barça’s activities”, explains Adela Argelet, secretary of the Association of Neighbors of Les Corts. Uncertainty about the impact it will have on businesses can be seen by talking to neighborhood workers one morning a weekday, as ARA has done to prepare this report.
“I believe that Espai Barça will harm the shops in the area. If they finally build what they say they will build, people will stay more in the leisure area inside and will not go out so much in the bars “, says José Paredes, manager of the Bayo restaurant, located on the Travessera de les Corts, at the height of Maternity. The sporting situation of the Barça team is not helping to improve the neighborhood’s economy. “Now the fans leave the stadium sad and go home at the end of the match. The situation has recovered very little with respect to the hardest part of the pandemic “, adds Paredes, who opened his business 25 years ago. In the same vein is Mei, head of Tea Garden, a bar just meters from the Bayo. “I’m not sure if Espai Barça will benefit the shops and restaurants around the Camp Nou. If they improve the space inside, I think it will affect those of us outside, ”he says. During a match day, Tea Garden’s clientele multiplies. “I can make five barrels of beer and make 100 sandwiches. On the other hand, today, like the rest of the normal days, maybe I will have ten drinks “, he explains.
However, there is also optimism among neighborhood restaurateurs. For example, Hernán, in charge of the El Rellotge bar on Carrer de la Riera Blanca, where the Dracs animation group usually does the pre-match. “We hope that Espai Barça will make everything better; I guess it will attract more audience, there will be more tourists. I am optimistic and I think it will get better “, he predicts. For his part, Lluís, the owner of the churreria located at access 15 of the Camp Nou, near the corner of Travessera and Avinguda Arístides Maillol, does not believe that things will change much in the long run. “We have been here for many years. When you enter any stadium you know that everything will be more expensive than outside. At the beginning, Espai Barça may affect us negatively because it will be the novelty, but then I imagine that the situation will normalize “, he considers.
The year outside the Camp Nou
What there is no doubt will affect the trade of Les Corts is the season that the first men’s team could play away from the Camp Nou (it would be in Montjuïc during the 2023-2024 season) so that the most complex works of the Barça stadium with security and speed. If this circumstance is finally confirmed (Barça is looking for ways to prevent this), for traders and restaurateurs it will mean losing the income that comes from the influx of fans and tourists to the stadium, especially on match day. “Without any survey, there must have been concern about moving to Montjuïc. It remains to be seen whether the visit to the museum will remain open, ”says Argelet, secretary of the Les Corts Residents’ Association. “During the coronavirus we made a neighborhood, but it is clear that we will notice an incredible drop if they go to play in Montjuïc”, says Lluís, the owner of the churreria of access 15. “During the time that Barça will not play in the Camp We will have zero games again and that will have a big impact on us. Football matches help us a lot and now, as we are, he will fuck us even more “, explains Paredes, from the Bayo restaurant. On the other hand, Hernán, from El Rellotge, is optimistic again: “There will be no parties, but there will be workers, architects and transporters who will come to work every day and consume in the Cortes. They will have to have breakfast, eat, make beer, the carajillo…”
Messi’s departure and poor results, twice as many
But Espai Barça is not the only concern of the trade and catering of Les Corts in relation to the Barça club. Among the harms of the pandemic in the form of restrictions is the fact that the neighborhood has been without matches at the Camp Nou for a year and five months, an unusual fact since it opened in 1957. In addition, the return of the public at the stadium has already taken place without Leo Messi and with a disastrous start to the season in terms of results. “Since Messi left, we have had a lot of damage to the business. We lost a lot of money because we had a lot of articles from him. I have scarves and T-shirts from him and more than 100 hats in the store “, explains Uzair, who runs the BCN Souvenirs Store in Riera Blanca, which specializes in club merchandising. “In addition, the bad sports situation is causing people to not want to come to matches. The other day after the defeat against Betis, nobody bought anything “, he continues to report with a worried face. In any case, he has hope: “I hope that all this will be recovered with Xavi on the bench and Alves on the pitch. I haven’t received any articles from Alves yet, but they will. There are people who have already asked me to do so, ”said Uzair.
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