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The 'Espai Barca' project has run aground

  /  autty

In April 2014, 72 per cent of Barcelona's members voted in favour of the 'Espai Barca' project.

The project would see the remodelling of the Camp Nou and its surrounding area and work was due to start on it in 2017 and finish in 2021.

However, problems have arisen over the plans.

There was opposition from neighbouring buildings around the stadium and it was difficult for the club to agree a deal with the local council.

On top of that, there were the financial issues, with Barcelona unable to find a sponsor willing to pay the 600 million euro naming rights package for the new stadium.

Furthermore, after construction on the renovations had started, builders ran out of resources to continue the works.

At that point, the Barcelona board decided to restructure the finances of the project, asking for a bigger loan and leaving the sale of the naming rights package until after the stadium had been completed.

However, the project continued to be held back as those opposing the new price structuring voiced their concerns, led by upcoming presidential candidate Victor Font.

The proposal to increase the cost of the sponsorship rights to the stadium from 600m euros to 800m euros wasn't ultimately approved.

Font asked the club to pose the question to its members in a new referendum that was meant to be carried out in 2020, but the coronavirus crisis has put it on hold.

The club didn't think it was a good time to hold a referendum anyway after calls for Josep Maria Bartomeu to resign continued to grow at the Camp Nou.

The possibility that this referendum isn't held at all in 2020 is real.

As we go into 2021, the year the project should've been completed, it may still barely have gotten underway.

Related: Barcelona