Barcelona loosen their rather tight belts just a little this summer, as they predict the financial impact of their move to the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys to be less than first thought.
The Blaugrana had initially been predicted to lose around €93m in matchday revenue from the move, which will see Montjuic host around 40 Barcelona games until November 2024. At that point the club intend to return to a 70,000 capacity Camp Nou, as renovation work is completed on the stadium.
As per MD, Institutional Vice-President Elena Fort has explained that the club expect to lose €55m rather than the €93m originally projected – a boost of €38m. Of course these are predictions, rather than actual figures.
Fort also detailed plans to ensure fans come to Montjuic for the afternoon-evening rather than just the game, bringing in revenue from around the ground, also highlighting the value of VIP packages.
It is hard not to see some of the cost as being passed to the fans too though, with prices set to rise sharply for season-ticket holders, in some cases doubling.
“It is half the capacity and we try to be as fair as possible, it is hard for the club at the income level and we have to have a percentage of sales based on surveys of members who want to attend. I think we’ll fill it,” Fort continued.
Barcelona have recently agreed to financing for their Espai Barca project to redevelop the area around Camp Nou. The costs are spiralling upwards for the Blaugrana as they try to fit inside their salary limit this summer, and this news will be welcome to the accountants at least.
