FC Barcelona has secured the money for the reconstruction of its stadium, which is in dire need of renovation. With a total of 20 investors, including banks such as J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs, a total loan volume of 1.45 billion euros has been agreed, the Spanish football club announced. This amount corresponds to the expected total cost. Barça has horrendous debts of 1.35 billion euros.
At a general meeting in December 2021, expenditures of a maximum of 1.5 billion euros for the modernization of the Camp Nou were approved. "It will be the best stadium in the world, in the best city in the world, in the best country in the world," club president Joan Laporta said at the time of the announcement. The conversion is scheduled to begin on June 1 and will be carried out by the Turkish construction group Limak. The work is expected to take about three years and be completed by June 2026. The spectator capacity will then increase from 99,000 to 105,000.
According to the plans, the team led by national goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen will play its home games at the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium at least in the first half of the 2023/2024 season due to the renovation. This stadium was the central venue for the 1992 Summer Games and holds only around 55,000 spectators.
With the "Espai Barça" ("Barça Square") project, which includes the conversion of the Camp Nou and the entire surrounding club facility, including the Palau Blaugrana sports hall, the club wants to raise up to 250 million euros per year in the future. This money will be used to repay some of the loans. Following the signing of a "strategic partnership" agreement with music streaming leader Spotify, the Catalans' stadium is now called "Spotify Camp Nou" by its full name.