The board of directors of FC Barcelona opted not to wait for the year recommended by some internal and external voices and gave the green light to the financing plan of the Espai Barçaone of the most transcendental decisions in the club’s history due to the volume of the operation.
Barça exile for a season Olympic Stadium of Montjuïc It can therefore be taken for granted, despite the doubts raised in recent days about the economic structure of the remodeling of the stadium in the face of the macroeconomic situation, interest rate rises, and the club’s own day-to-day difficulties.
The board of directors, summoned in a room of the box of the Camp Nouheard from the mouth of Joan Laporta and the economic experts of the entity the proposals for the mammoth financing of the remodeling, of 1,500 million euros, the figure approved by the Assembly of Commitments in October 2022. The board of directors learned all the details of the financing and voted in favor of pull ahead, just as I wanted Joan Laporta, determined not to delay the start of the works any longer. He clearly prevailed over the skeptics.
Communication to investors
The financing, piloted by US investment banks Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, will be structured in different tranches, a first presumably of 500 million at an interest rate of 6%. A higher percentage than the previously negotiated 5.2%. The shocks in the banking sector in recent weeks and the reputational problems stemming from the Negreira case They have raised the price of money. It remains to see the complete structure after a complex negotiation. It is expected that this Friday the club will notify investors of the board’s decision and the agreement can be made official. At this time, it still cannot be considered closed, but almost.
There were managers who considered it advisable to put the project on hold for at least a year. Wait for the financial turbulence of inflation and high rates to calm down, clean up the club’s accounts and reduce the operating deficit of 200 million, but Laporta, despite the risks, has always been in favor of continuing ahead and not delaying a reform that it has been stranded for a decade. Within the board he has had the firm support of eduard romeuthe economic vice president.
The decision, in the absence of knowing the precise conditions for the repayment of the loans, places the entity in a situation of maximum economic stress. Barring unforeseen events, the only guarantee that investors will receive will be the performance of the new Camp Nou, which is estimated at 347 million a year. There are no risks for the Estadi itself or for ordinary business. Nor is it clear if within the 1500 million there is a game for the Palau Blaugrana.
All the indications point, then, that the works of the ancient Camp Nou They will begin in the summer and the move of the first men’s soccer team will last until November 2024, as long as the Turkish construction company Limak meets the deadlines set for the return to the Estadi. The promised speed was key to prevailing in the controversial contest, according to what was officially said from the club.
The Negreira case
Barça and the City Council recently staged the transfer agreement for the Estadi Olímpic and, in fact, the refurbishment work has already begun. For the club it will cost approximately 20 million euros. Barça has already communicated to the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) that the first team will play their home games next season in Montjuicinformation that the federal entity must notify, in turn, to the Uefa.
Montjuïc will host the league matches and maybe, just maybe, the European ones. What remains to be known is UEFA’s decision on whether to sanction Barça during a course for the Negreira case. He launched an investigation, the announcement of which caused concern among US investors. Laporta had to answer all kinds of questions about it before them.
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For this reason, at the meeting held this Thursday, with Mateu Alemany present, the Negreira case and the way to deal with the crisis were discussed. Also how to cut expenses, and in this aspect the reduction in the club’s salary mass is key.
The board of directors also approved the renewal of two bank policies with two different banks for a maximum total of 39.5 million euros. Money that, according to the club, will serve to “strengthen the club’s capacity to carry out ordinary operations.” That is, to survive on a day-to-day basis.