April 05, (THEWILL) – Barcelona’s plans to renovate their iconic Camp Nou stadium as part of their “Espai Barça” project, have hit another snag, with completion now scheduled for 2025/2026, a year later than originally hoped.
The extensive project, with an estimated cost of €1.5bn, has been in development since 2014, but has suffered delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic and financial issues at the club.
While former president Josep Maria Bartomeu had initially planned an €815m renovation before leaving the club, successor Joan Laporta put his own stamp on the project, increasing the estimated cost to €1.5bn. The financing for the redevelopment has proven difficult to secure, with concerns over changes to the plans potentially reducing future revenue for the club.
Barcelona is currently lacking the necessary permits for the project and has had to restart the consultation process, with as many as four architectural firms working on the new plans.
Meanwhile, arch-rivals Real Madrid’s renovation of the Bernabeu stadium appears to be progressing smoothly and is expected to be completed by the end of 2023. Barcelona may currently have the upper hand on the pitch in the La Liga, but the chaos surrounding the redevelopment of their stadium is difficult to ignore.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
