BarcelonaAt the beginning of the month, Barça held a meeting with members to discuss Espai Barça. In the question period, there was no shortage of doubts about financing and a hypothetical price increase when the Camp Nou is completed. They were not the only issues that worried the social mass. The future Palau Blaugrana is also a recurring theme, because it has neither a construction date nor any explicit item in the 1.5 billion financing that the club signed in April.
Eduard Romeu took the floor and repeated what he had already said in several interviews: “The money will come from the 179 million in interest that will be paid with the extraordinary income generated by the Camp Nou, from the 200 million in contingencies that will not need to be used and from the additional 50 that the club has as a maximum authorized to borrow”. A dance of figures and numbers that adds up to 429 million, which is roughly the amount of money that Barça already said (420) that would be spent on this construction, which will serve, in the future, as a sports hall and concert hall. A figure, however, that President Joan Laporta reduced to half. “We don’t need 400 million, we can make a Palace with 200”.
Cost more or less, the construction of the new Palace, a historical claim of the sections, has been a stone in the shoe for all the directives. The premises had become small and aged, and this limited its use and reduced its ability to generate income. Demolished the Ministadium, the new pavilion already had a large lot to be built. But then the project still needed to be completed, which went from 12,000 to 15,000 seats. The works on Line 9 of the metro, which is still under construction, made it impossible to thread the needle. And the Barcelona City Council, aware that this pavilion would be in direct competition with the Palau Sant Jordi, was also in no rush to speed up the procedures. When the current board of Joan Laporta asked for funding, it was found that the investors did not see the pavilion as a priority issue. “Espai Barça is everything, Camp Nou and Palau, but for investors the pavilion is secondary. The stadium is the jewel in the crown, the one that will give the most money, and it is what they have made sure is built above all else. As for the rest, we will see,” points out one of the sources consulted, linked to Espai Barça.
Doubts grow when reading the small print of the securitization fund, the document signed before a notary on April 24 between Barça and the creditors. The text makes it clear that the money must be allocated to the Camp Nou or to repay the debt. And it says, explicitly, that only part of the loan can be used to carry out a preliminary study of the new Palace, but that prior written permission must be requested from the creditors. “We couldn’t ask for money for a pavilion that we don’t even know when we’ll be able to build it. That’s why we’ve found the formula for contingencies”, they justify from the club. But, as they admit in the noble offices, “everything is a matter of honor, because there is the commitment with the partners acquired in the assembly, but this has not been transferred to the signed documents”.
Experts disagree with the club’s version of how to pay for the new Palau Blaugrana
As Romeu explained, there is already an item of 80 million for possible contingencies in the remodeling of the Camp Nou. It was therefore guaranteed that the additional 200 million contingencies “shall not be used” and may be devoted to the Palace. But financial experts disagree with this version. The contingencies are usually 20% of the cost of the work – the stadium is budgeted at 960 million – and are an indispensable requirement in a project of this magnitude. “The worst thing that can happen to whoever puts in the money is that the work is not finished. Contingencies are a mattress to avoid problems if there are unforeseen events,” analyzes Albert Deulofeu. This economist, an expert in sports finance, disagrees with the economic vice-president because the works have just started and therefore there is a “risk” of deviations in the budget. And, despite everything going smoothly, he wonders: “What guarantees do the partners have that the leftover money will go to the Palace and not to other things? They are acknowledging that there is no final funding for the Palace, even though it is unpopular to say so.”
“It’s a long way to go live until 2026,” adds Marc Círia. This finance expert, who was part of Laporta’s management team in the 2015 elections, puts himself in the shoes of the creditors and believes that the critical moment will come when Barça has finished the Camp Nou and wants to move forward with the new Palau. “Creditors are very clear about where they are putting their money and what for. When they have to decide between spending money on a stadium or getting the club to repay the debt, they will most likely want to get their money back. This is the real world and they will not want to take any risks.” Therefore, Ciria takes for granted that “there will have to be a bond issue for the Palace”. In fact, the vice-president Eduard Romeu already left open the possibility of asking the assembly for permission if in the end “20, 50 or 80 million” are missing for the pavilion. But, he insisted, starting from the basis that the bulk of the Palau will come out of the 1.5 billion in funding for Espai Barça.
The explanations of the economic vice-president sounded satisfactory to the attendees, who went home with the club’s leaders promising that the new Palau will be built from 2026, when the works at the Camp Nou have been completed. But financial experts remember that when money is involved, only what is written in a contract has real value. The new Palau Blaugrana is a matter of faith.
2023-07-23 06:45:59
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