FC Barcelona has announced that it will stage a meeting with its senior delegates on September 22 in order to request a referendum to decide on the future of its Nou Camp home, reports SportBusiness. The future of Barcelona's iconic stadium has been the cause of much debate in recent months. Speaking at his end-of-year address in June, Barcelona president Sandro Rosell announced that planned renovations at the Nou Camp had been put on hold despite the revelation of record financial results.
Rosell insisted that a revamp of the Nou Camp would not be able to happen until the club's debt is further reduced. Last September, Barcelona announced plans to add 10,000 seats and install new VIP boxes at the Nou Camp, which currently has a capacity of 90,000, and also remodel the area surrounding the stadium (Espai Barca) and build a new arena (Palau Blaugrana) for the club's basketball team.
However, Barcelona is now seeking permission to hold a referendum amongst its members with the Spanish media stating that a variety of options are on the table.
These range from leaving the Nou Camp untouched, staging a partial or entire redevelopment, or even developing a new stadium at a different site.
"We want delegate members to authorise us to hold a referendum," said Barcelona director Toni Freixa, according to the club's official website. "We are not calling for a referendum. In the end, if delegate members give us the authorisation, we want all club members to have a voice in the matter."
In other news, Barcelona's board of directors approved the club's budget for the 2012-13 financial year, forecasting revenues of Eur470 million and expenditure of Eur427.9 million. The Liga giant set record profits of Eur48.8 million for the 2011-12 season.
The club also added that it has extended its sponsorship deals with medical care company Asistencia Sanitaria and Turkish Airlines through June 2016 and June 2015 respectively.
