He camp Nou (Campo Nuevo in Spanish) returned the meaning of its name. Last Monday, shovel in hand, FC Barcelona President Joan Laporto had the honor of laying the foundation stone for the rejuvenated giant on which Barcelona will attempt to build its future. ocean liner Espay Barca – the project to transform the Camp Nou, the new Palau Blaugran and the Barça campus – required the payment of the same requirements as the architectural difficulties it would present when erected.

The club closed the financing of Espai Barça with 20 investors for €1,450 million. These partners include leading names such as Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, JLL, Pérez-Lorca, DLA Piper, Key Capital Partners, Legends and IPG 360 to name a few. The financing structure has various tranches for 5, 7, 9, 20 and 24 years, as well as a flexible structure with a grace period. FC Barcelona will start repaying this transaction when the stadium is completed and Spotify Camp Nou is expected to generate around €247 million a year in revenue.

The operation came at a time of extreme economic turmoil for a company that has recently been forced to sell some of its capital to maintain its business strength. The summer of 2022 became known as one of the levers as Laporta activated four operations to ensure that Barça had a checkbook available.

The first major step taken by FC Barcelona was the sale of 10% of its television rights to sixth street for 25 years for 207.5 million euros. The business with the American company expanded as an additional 15% of the television rights were soon awarded to Sixth Street for 330 million euros. The third and penultimate step was the sale of 24.5% of Barça Studios to the company. partners.comand “oxygenation” was secured by the transfer of another 24.5% of Barça Studios for 100 million euros in Orpheus Mediafrom Jaume Roures.

One of the big headlines that FC Barcelona made about its funding agreement was that it was implemented “according to referendum-approved criteria, without guarantees of club capital or stadium collateral”; however, this came at a cost to the culé team as, according to reports, Confidential70% of the debt for the new Camp Nou was placed at an interest rate of more than 7%, which distorts the figure certified by the club’s financial director, Manel del Río, of the €1,450m debt placement for Espay Barça. at an average interest rate of 5.53%.

From 1957 to 2025: the evolution of the Camp Nou

FC Barcelona found its home on the old Les Corts pitch, opened in 1922. After playing in different places, the Blaugrana team cemented their history in Les Corts, where they received their first fiefdom. The social mass increased and although it was remodeled several times, Les Corts remained small. Then-president Agustí Montal Galobart signed an option in 1950 to buy a piece of land in the area of ​​the maternity hospital where a new stadium was planned, commissioned by the architects Francesc Mitjans Miro, Miro-Sans’ cousin, and Josep Soteras Mauri. collaboration Lorenzo Garcia Barbón.

288 million pesetas, the Camp Nou opened its doors one day in La Merce, September 24, 1957. The amphitheater, made mainly of concrete and iron, had a capacity of 99,053 spectators (the old project was up to 150,000 people) and the dimensions of the field were 107 by 72 meters (currently they are 105×68, according to UEFA).

Some of the most modern reforms carried out in the culé coliseum were the opening of lighting (1959), an electronic scoreboard located in the 2nd tier podium (1976), or private boxes; although at a structural level, the expansion of 22,150 new third tier seats in 1982 or work in 1994 to lower the level of the field by 2.5 meters, which allowed the lower stands to be expanded and the conversion of Standing to seating and from the safety moat, is highlighted, surrounding the field. At the turn of the century, the stadium’s capacity was 99,354, making it the stadium with the largest capacity in Europe.

The future of Camp Nou

Nikken Sekkei It will be the architectural studio responsible for preserving the identity of the Camp Nou and transforming it into a state-of-the-art stadium. As FC Barcelona points out on its website, “it will retain its Mediterranean character, will be open, with large terraces, which are the hallmarks of the building project.” In addition, it will include “improvements to maximize its economic potential and, above all, minimize the impact on subscriber members, in addition to updating the project in terms of innovation, technology, sustainability and accessibility.”

The future Camp Nou will include a 360-degree screen that will offer the public a new experience. Technological advances will improve vehicle safety and access control systems, and make the most of the opportunities offered by 5G connectivity. The roof will include a geothermal system and global distribution of heat and cold (central heating and cooling) to make Espai Barça a benchmark for environmental sustainability. The roof will be covered with 30,000 m2 of solar panels to generate photovoltaic energy.

VIPs will get a seat at the Camp Nou. The first level VIP ring will be placed above, between the second and third levels, with an independent double ring, which will greatly increase the capacity of the VIP boxes and thus generate more income, which will be used to finance the project. . The third tier will be completely refurbished with a more operational and functional distribution to have more space for the member and the club. This new third level will concentrate the VIP spaces. In addition, the first tier is being optimized, where underground corridors disappear, seating appears and accessibility improves.

The Camp Nou will have a capacity of 105,000 spectators, who will be kept indoors in case of adverse weather conditions thanks to a retractable roof, and is scheduled for completion by the end of 2025.