Asia

Barcelona close to Nou Camp naming rights deal

Spanish La Liga football club Barcelona has reportedly entered advanced talks with parties interested in taking on the naming rights to its Nou Camp home stadium.

Companies from the US and Asia are said to be speaking with the club over a 20-year deal worth up to €300m ($351.7m/£267.6m), sources have told ESPN FC.

Barcelona is keen to have an agreement in place before the start of the 2019-20 season, with club members to vote on the deal at next year’s General Assembly.

Funds raised from an agreement would be used to help finance a planned €600m renovation of the Nou Camp. Barca secured approval for the ‘Espai Barca’ project from the city council earlier this year.

Should the planned work go ahead, improvements would include increasing the capacity of the Nou Camp from 99,354 to 105,000.

Barcelona also plans to build a new 12,000-capacity multifunctional arena near to the stadium, as well as a new ice rink and an upgraded FCBEscola, featuring renovated facilities and two football pitches.

The club has already started work on the Johan Cruyff Stadium at its training ground, with construction due for completion early next year. The new facility will serve as the home ground of both the Barcelona ‘B’ side and the women’s team.

Image: Oh-Barcelona.com