Featured image credit: Alessio Patron on Unsplash
Spanish LaLiga football club FC Barcelona posted an average attendance of 83,497 for league matches held at the Spotify Camp Nou during the 2022-23 season, the highest figure recorded in the 21st century.
Barcelona defeated Real Mallorca 3-0 on Sunday in its final home match of the season. The fixture will also be the last played at the stadium for over a year, with Barcelona to spend next season at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys while the Camp Nou undergoes renovation work.
The club has already started work on the Camp Nou revamp, with president Joan Laporta stating that the new-look stadium will be “a collective dream for all Barça fans”.
It proved to be a successful season for Barcelona on the pitch as the club lifted the LaLiga title, and attendances rose as a result. The highest attendance was 95,745, which was posted when Barcelona defeated arch-rival Real Madrid back in March.
The capacity of the Camp Nou was reduced to 95,877 in December as part of the Gol Sur stand was demolished to make way for the upgrades.
The average league attendance of 83,497 marks the first time since the turn of the century that the figure has exceeded 80,000. In 2010-11, the figure was close (79,192), and again in 2015-16 (78,342) and 2016-17 (78,678).
In the Champions League, Barcelona posted an attendance of 92,302 for the match against Inter Milan, while the Europa League fixture against Manchester United attracted 90,225 fans. In the Copa del Rey, 94,902 fans watched the Clásico against Real Madrid.
In other news, Barcelona has issued bonds to fund the revamp of the Camp Nou.
The Reuters news agency, citing data published on the Vienna stock exchange, reported that Barcelona has agreed to pay between 6% and 7.22% interest depending on maturities.
In April, Barcelina finalised €1.45bn (£1.24bn/$1.56bn) of financing to complete the Espai Barça project, which will include the remodelling of the Camp Nou.
The club said that the funding was sourced from 20 investors, including Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, and meets the criteria approved in the referendum of members by avoiding an equity guarantee from the club or mortgage on the stadium.
The bonds issued by the club’s Espai Barça fund yesterday (Wednesday) will reportedly mature in 2028, 2030, 2032, 2043 and 2047.
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