BarcelonaEspai Barça has given the club’s members and fans a lot of shock, especially due to the continuous delays in carrying out the project. In fact, according to the initial forecasts of Josep Maria Bartomeu’s board, the Camp Nou should have been showing off its remodeled image for months. In the 2014 referendum, the date set for the completion of the works was 2021.
Since her arrival at the box office, Joan Laporta’s management has been intensively redoing the design of the Espai Barça, and the intention is to start modernizing the feudal cule from this summer thanks to 1.5 billion euros in funding. which was approved by the social masses in the second referendum of the project. But this week Laporta has made some statements that have raised doubts again. “The war in Ukraine could affect the Espai Barça. The price of materials has risen by 25% and interest rates have also risen. This can alter the schedule of works “, he explained in an interview with Sports world. The forecast is to finish the work in 2025.
ARA has asked board sources if they have data on how much the Espai Barça could cost as a result of the Russian invasion and the answer has been no. On the other hand, an expert in the field of construction of first-class sports venues says that “there has been an increase in the CPI throughout Europe due to the war and this has led to a rise in the price of materials, but at the moment it is not enough to stop any work even in countries like Germany, where the prices are getting more expensive due to the proximity to Ukraine ”. The closest example Barça has is the remodeling of the Santiago Bernabéu, which is already in its final stages. Sources familiar with the white team’s project say the conflict “has not affected him”.
Builders and banks, conditioned by the war
One of Barça’s problems is that it has not yet been given a building permit, which means that it has not been able to award the project to any construction company. In this respect, the Russian invasion could be an economic obstacle for the Barça club. “Builders can use war to raise prices,” the source said.
In addition, economists consulted by ARA consider that Barça may also have problems closing the 1.5 billion funding channeled by Goldman Sachs, a negotiation that had mainly led former CEO Ferran Reverter to resign. of February. “Banks are supplying money because of the war. Therefore, someone who was perhaps predisposed to leave 400 million will now find it difficult to do so until the end of the conflict “, considers an economist. “Right now, contractors can’t guarantee you a fixed price because they don’t want to stick their fingers in it. And without a guaranteed price, I don’t think funding can be closed for 30 years “, says another source familiar with the Barça project.
The building permit will not be issued in the short term
The final building permit to be granted by Barcelona City Council to Barça will not arrive in the short term, according to various sources consulted. But this does not mean that the machinery will not be able to start working at the Camp Nou this summer. In fact, as ARA explained, the club is emptying the main warehouse, located on the side, to facilitate the works. Barça will probably get the demolition license soon, independent of the general license. This will allow, for example, to continue with the works of the backpacks of the two goals, which were stopped in 2019 due to structural problems encountered.
In the meantime, the final license will take longer to arrive because the City Council will have to approve the intense remodeling of the project that is being done by the board of Laporta. There is a date on the horizon that is still very far away and gives way, but that could slow down the Espai Barça if then the club does not have all the permits: in May 2023, when the municipal elections will be held in Barcelona. “During an election period, the machinery of the City Council slows down a lot,” explains a source from Bartomeu’s board, who coexisted with those of 2015 and 2019.
