Hopes pinned on new campus: Vehicles awaiting compensation
Small business owners around Barcelona’s Camp Nou are anxious about the delay in the opening of the new stadium. With their businesses directly affected by the absence of fans, they hope that the stadium’s opening will be a turning point that will restore economic life to the area and revive their revenues, which were severely affected during the closure and renovation period. Between cautious optimism and waiting for a decision, the most prominent question remains: when will vitality return to Barcelona’s sporting heart?
An economic model created by football awaits its return
The shops surrounding the Camp Nou stadium are still suffering from an economic recession despite promises by the Barcelona club management to speed up the completion of the renovation work, scheduled to be completed by 2025.
These shops face major challenges to survive, as their profits have declined sharply compared to what they were previously. However, hopes are pinned on the stadium’s return to its usual activity, to revive the area, attract visitors and increase sales.
Since FC Barcelona temporarily moved to the Montjuïc stadium, the new reality has imposed difficult economic challenges on local businesses in the Les Cortes neighbourhood, known for its liveliness and abundance of restaurants, bars and commercial projects. The team's return to the much-anticipated Spotify Camp Nou stadium represents a glimmer of hope for the entire area to recover economically.
Some of these businesses have managed to survive, while others have not been so lucky and have had to close, while in the midst of this uncertainty, there are those who have chosen to move their business or adapt their hours to the reduced customer traffic.
Relevo met some of the managers of these shops and projects, including the Caso Ferreira restaurant, one of whose managers told the network: "We have now reduced our opening hours. We work from 11 am to 8 pm, and we no longer close at midnight. The previous owner has left and moved the building, and we have decided to reduce our opening hours."
But the loyal customers of Les Cortes, who are not very interested in football and are a minority in Barcelona, represent the only hope for the owners of these shops to survive, and the two main attractions in this file for them are the Barcelona Museum and the Palau.
The owner of Casa Bene says: "We monitor the business every day and it is very behind schedule, and we hope that it will be back in September. We have held on because we thought that what they were telling us would be true, first November, then December... but it was not the case and we are in trouble, we were a business model created by football, when it disappears, the business disappears."