Featured image credit: FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona has confirmed it will see out the 2024-25 season at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys amid the ongoing construction work at Spotify Camp Nou.
In an email to members reported by multiple Spanish media outlets, Barcelona said season ticket holders at the Estadi Olímpic will have their passes extended to include men’s first team matches in LaLiga and the UEFA Champions League through to the end of the current campaign.
Barcelona has been playing at the Estadi Olímpic since the start of the 2023-24 season while the Camp Nou undergoes major redevelopment work. The Camp Nou’s capacity is increasing to 105,000, with the venue also being fitted with a new roof.
Initially, Barcelona had planned on moving back into a partially open Camp Nou midway through the current season, but in November the club’s return was pushed back until mid-February. In an email to supporters on January 17, Barcelona announced the extension of the validity of season tickets for the Estadi Olímpic until April 23, the date of the club’s LaLiga match against RCD Mallorca.
At the end of January, Barcelona said it would request an extension to its tenancy at Estadi Olímpic covering the remainder of the 2024-25 season. Despite this, the club was still said to have been holding out hope of returning to the Camp Nou, albeit at a reduced capacity, before the end of the season. However, this will now not be the case.
Barcelona reportedly hired Goldman Sachs this month as it looks to lower debt related to the wide-ranging redevelopment of the Camp Nou. Goldman Sachs was said to have been engaged to “explore ways” to reduce the cost of debt used for the project.
Barcelona was said to be seeking a reduction in interest payments by partially refinancing the €1.45bn (£1.21bn/$1.57bn) in debt it raised to fund the redevelopment. Barcelona’s debt repayments are set to begin next year, with a €583m repayment due in 2028.
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