The members of FC Barcelona voted in favor of raising additional funds in order to finance the renovation of the dilapidated Camp Nou stadium. Following the vote, the club launched the Espai Barca project, which aims to raise 1.5 billion euros ($1.74 billion) which will be used towards repairing and developing the stadium’s facilities. Club president Joan Laporta suggested that members could be involved in the club’s fundraising efforts.
With a capacity of 105,000 fans, Camp Nou is the largest football stadium in Europe. It also houses another venue that is used for basketball matches. Currently, both facilities are in a dilapidated state in need of much improvement.
While the club expects to generate 200 million euros of additional revenue annually, it continues to find itself in a precarious financial predicament. Between June 2019 and March 2021, the La Liga club amassed an additional 159 million euros in debt, with its prior figure of 514 million euros inflating to 673 million euros.
The main source of rising club debts stems from the purchase of players, according to a report from the club’s new management team which took over in March. This issue forced the club to part ways with club legend Lionel Messi.
