/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/larazon/TDDL6UAHMJFPZL6YK5OZAZNZNA.JPG "credit of 1,500 million and a year away from the Camp Nou")
The president of Barcelona, Joan Laporta, explained during an interview with RAC1 that The Camp Nou remodeling works will prevent the team from playing its matches at the stadium for a year and that during that time he will play at home at the Johan Cruyff stadium, located next to the Joan Gamper Sports City, located in Sant Joan Despí.
“The third tier and the first [del Camp Nou] it will have to be thrown to the ground. During the first year there will be assistance and construction. The project says three years and I calculate four. There will be 110,000 spectators. During the works, the idea now is to go to the Estadi Johan Cruyff. It will only be a season, tops. We are contemplating expanding it to 50,000 viewers and members will have to rotate. There is also the option of Montjuïc, but I would like the Johan ”, clarified Laporta. Currently, the Johan Cruyff has a capacity of 6,000 spectators.
The president of Barcelona also said that the initial project has been changed: “The one from before had become quite obsolete, there have been changes for the better. It is spectacular. I got goose bumps when they introduced me to it. It can have an impact on the city like that of the Olympic Games and be a world reference for leisure, entertainment … ”.
Too Laporta assured that after the remodeling, the Camp Nou will have an advertising name: “You have to understand that the new stadium will be an income generator. The name will be sponsored, because you have to take advantage of all the assets. The club states can take a lot. “
To undertake this work, it will be necessary to obtain a € 1.5 billion financing from Goldman Sachs. “If the Assembly does not authorize it, it will be hard. They are very interested, last week we had a meeting and they want to join us. They understand that the way to manage this project is that once it is built we return this financing. There are other investors who are interested, but Goldman knows the project very well. We are talking about between 800 and 900 million to which we must add the Palau and the campus. We are going to the figure of 1,500 million ”, assured Laporta.
“It is necessary for the viability of the club. Espai Barça will generate a lot of income. When we present the new stadium project, people will realize the impact for the city and for the club. The previous Board did not do its homework, but it is essential. If the assembly authorizes us to obtain the capital to build the new stadium, the Palau and the Barça Campus, the works would begin next summer. It is not a loan, because there is no need to return it until we have income from what we build ”, added the president of Barcelona.
Laporta also made it clear that it will be Barcelona and not Goldman who has control and decision-making capacity: “Goldman has no control or decision-making power over this operation. Trust us. The maximum is trust, but Barça will send. There are no real guarantees, it is the business itself that returns the credit, but financing has its fees. They will not exploit the field. The decision-making power will be ours, the decisions are made by us ”.
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