Barcelona held a press conference today where Institutional Vice-President Elena Fort and Operations Manager Joan Sentelles clearing up uncertainty on how the Camp Nou renovations are going.
The new stadium will hold 104,000 fans once complete, and so far have spent €342m of their €1.071b budget, some 32%. Originally it had been planned that Barcelona would play on the 29th of November to mark the 125th anniversary of the club. Now it will be at the end of the year, and as Diario AS report, will be open to 64,000 fans once the work on the first and second tier are finished.
Aston Villa could go for Raphinha if Diaby departs. @sport
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Champions League games will continue at Montjuic until the knockout rounds due to UEFA rules, and they will be without a roof while work continues on the third tier. That will be installed in the summer of 2025, and they hope ready for the start of the following season. After that they will build a ‘sky deck’ over the stadium, which they hope to earn €2.5m from annually.
Currently the stadium’s income is just under €100m per annum, and Sentelles remarked that once complete – which is due in 2026 – then the total income will reach a minimum projection of €272m. The total at that point would be €374m yearly, according to their predictions.
They also said they had carried out regular safety checks and investigated the claims of mistreatment of workers, but so far had not found any issues, while they have ‘helped Limak all they can’ with subcontracted workers.
No 360-degree big screen will be installed as is the case at the Santiago Bernabeu, although the big screens will be improved, and the singing section will also be moved from the North stand to the South stand. That stand will be staggered slightly lower to improve the visibility of fans behind them, who often are affected by flags.