Laporta's balancing acts to pay for the Camp Nou

BarcelonaBarça's good sporting streak suggested a calm assembly of delegates for Joan Laporta, but neither the president nor the executives breathed completely easily until the fourth item on the agenda was approved. The social base authorized the expansion of the Espai Barça credit by 300 million and validated the issuance of bonds for an additional 210 million. Money that was essential to finish the remodeling of a Camp Nou that has ended up costing more and has also taken longer than expected.

The members did not seem very worried when this new debt was proposed. In the previous sessions, the atmosphere was calm and very few questioned whether the increase in financing would also mean a change in the repayment conditions. There were hardly any questions about the delays and, instead, more concern about whether membership fees would be raised. Ferran Olivé, who was debuting as economic vice president, repeated that everything was being done "without the member paying a single cent". An argument that many found convincing.

Negotiating the credit expansion with Goldman Sachs was not easy, even though both the financial institution and Barça had a common goal: to inject money to ensure that the Camp Nou is finished. In any case, it was Goldman Sachs that held a position of strength, and for this reason, it has achieved a change in the credit repayment model: if until now Barça kept the first 100 million obtained from the operation of the stadium – and subsequently the following amounts were allocated to repay the loan –, now it is the financial institution that keeps the first tranche of revenue during the next two years.

These 300 million extra are needed because the business plan designed in 2023 could not be met. The delays have resulted in an extra cost, and since the stadium could not be exploited as it had been designed – the return was one year later than planned and the 62,000 spectators were not reached until several matches later – these 210 million bonds were additionally needed to compensate for the money that did not enter the club's coffers and that was needed for the budgeted day-to-day expenses. Meanwhile, imaginative formulas have already had to be used to obtain money that Barça was already counting on. The sale of part of the vip seats, in 2024, in order to have fair play and register Dani Olmo was a good example. A formula that Barça has activated again this week, commercializing 2,000 luxury seats that will be sold for a term of between 15 and 30 years and which should represent a total of 700 million euros in business.

In this case, the goal is to guarantee a volume of income that helps Barça repay a credit that, after going from 1.5 billion to 1.8 billion, becomes a new challenge for the treasury. This also explains why efforts are being focused on finishing and opening the double ring of vip boxes in the third tier, as it has become a priority project due to the level of revenue it generates. The forecast is that it will open in the first quarter of 2027 and that the rest of the standard seats on the top floor of the Camp Nou will then be opened.

In the medium term, challenges remain, as next season a return to Montjuïc will be necessary. The Espai Barça technicians had argued that four or five months would be enough to finish the big lift, the anglicism used to describe the installation of the roof structure. However, as advanced by ARA, the engineers were already saying that seven months would be needed. The only thing known for sure is that the budget for the 2027/28 season anticipates that a return to Camp Nou will not be possible until January 2028. If it ends up being sooner, all the better. In any case, the capacity will not yet be 104,000 spectators, but rather 92,000, according to what is stated in this budget. This is because with the roof only half-assembled, some areas of the third tier will not be usable. It will not be until the summer of 2028 that the roof will be covered, which is why the maximum capacity will be reached with the start of the 2028/29 season.

The total capacity of 104,000 spectators will not be reached until the 2028/29 season

Meanwhile, it will be necessary to keep generating cash to repay the debt. The board is studying an increase in season tickets, although from the club they insist that it will not be imminent, and certainly not before the stadium works are finished, as Olivé promised the delegates. For the moment, the only thing the board has done is adjust the price of the memberships. For members who do not have a pass, a discount will be maintained on ticket prices, which will vary depending on the opponent. Occasional fans, many of them tourists, will continue to be the ones contributing most to the cause with dynamic pricing tickets that can range between 200 and 400 euros, and from 500 upwards if it involves VIP seats.

The board believes that, once finished, the Camp Nou will generate more than 400 million euros per season, more than enough money to repay the loan and invest in a squad to aspire to everything. But for this to happen, we will have to wait and perform many balancing acts to balance the books.