By David Gold
September 24 – Barcelona could leave their famous Nou Camp home after the club’s members approved a referendum on the future of the stadium.
Almost three quarters of club members voted in favour of a referendum on the issue, with the club’s vice-president, Javier Faus, saying they could either build a new stadium or renovate the Nou Camp.
Renovation would cost €300 million (£239 million/$387 million), half as much as the construction of a new ground.
The club’s President Sandro Rosell said in June they had to put on hold plans to revamp the stadium to add 10,000 seats and VIP boxes.
Rosell cited financial concerns as the reason for the hold up in renovations, despite making a record profit of €49 million (£39 million/$63 million) last season, although their total debt still stands at €335 million (£267 million/$432 million).
Barcelona, which runs a number of other sports teams, as well as the football club, also wants to construct a new basketball stadium putting additional pressure onto the organisation’s finances.
As Barça’s home since 1957, the Nou Camp currently holds 99,000 spectators and is the largest football ground in Europe, hosting UEFA Champions League finals, FIFA World Cup matches and Olympic football.
The referendum will now take place in either the 2014-2015 or 2015-2016 season.
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