Renovation works to the Nou Camp, home of Barcelona, are unlikely to finish until 2023 amid ongoing deferrals between the project's key decision makers, SportsPro understands.
The development, which will see the iconic stadium's capacity increase from 99,354 to 105,000, could be delayed by a year or more beyond its initial completion date following roadblocks to its approvals process.
It is understood that the delays to the Nou Camp are solely an administrative matter, and are not affected by the planning or construction to other areas of the club's €600 million (US$683.8 million) Espai Barça project, which is running to schedule.
The overall project includes the development of a planned 6,000-seater Johan Cruyff Stadium and also a 10,000-capacity basketball arena – the multi-purpose New Palau Blaugrana – which are both on course for completion during the 2023/24 season.
The club has yet to make an official comment on an expected delay to the Nou Camp expansion, which has been assigned to Japanese architect Nikken Sekkei and the Barcelona-based design team Pascual-Ausió Arquitectes. That project makes up roughly €360 million (US$410.3 million) of the final cost of the Espai Barça project.
It comes amid reports that the club is in extensive negotiations over potential renaming rights of the stadium, with Catalan pharmaceuticals firm Grifols and Dutch holding company Scranton Enterprise both reported to have expressed interest in the inventory, which is being touted at €300 million (US$341.3 million). (www.sportspromedia.com/)
