FC Barcelona are enjoying further success during their preparation period in the USA, visiting stadiums whose model the Blaugrana are trying to implement in the construction of the new Camp Nou. Meanwhile, work on the construction site is still underway, VIP seats are almost sold out and the club has formed another partnership.

Skywalk at Camp Nou

Espai Barça COO Joan Sentelles and the club's vice-president Elena Fort have jointly announced some time ago the creation of an attraction, which is essentially a replication of the skywalk from the state-of-the-art Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Entry to the Spurs attraction costs from £36 up to £70.

The new addition is also a response to the skywalk at Real Madrid's arena, with which the Blaugrana are in a prestige battle for the best stadium in the Iberian Peninsula. The skywalk at the new Camp Nou, however, will differ significantly from its counterpart at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu.

While the skywalk in Madrid is located inside the facade structure and runs all around the stadium, the one in Barcelona, which is 1.5 metres wide and semicircular in shape, will run from the outside of the third level of the stands all the way above the playing area, offering views of the city but also the inside of the stadium from a unique perspective.

It is not yet clear whether the new skywalk will be part of a museum, a stadium tour or a separate attraction, but it is estimated by El Español that it will provide €2.5 million in revenue per year. This is another step towards commercialising the stadium in line with the American model of a stadium attracting not only spectators but also customers 365 days a year.

© Eduardo Barea | Unofficial visualization of Camp Nou

“Americanisation” of Camp Nou

Interestingly, FC Barcelona is just now on a kind of pre-season tour of the United States, where it is playing in arenas that are similar in some way to the new Camp Nou. On Sunday, Barca beat Real Madrid 2:1 at MetLife Stadium, and on Wednesday it will face AC Milan at M&T Bank Stadium.

There is still extensive work going on at Camp Nou itself. The lower level of the first stand is ready, but it is difficult to say whether Limak and his partners will be able to deliver 60% of the seats by the end of December, as announced. The pressure is on, however, as delays in the work will result in large sums being deducted from Limak.

In the meantime, the club has managed to establish another partnership, this time with the Catalan company FEVER, which will be responsible for the ticketing technology. The long list of business partners on the project (from the name of the stadium to the seats to just the tickets) is further evidence of the Americanisation of the new Camp Nou that president Joan Laporta is aiming for.

One of the two pillars of this initiative, in addition to the business partnerships, are the VIP boxes, 95% of which have been already sold out, according to the club for the most part over a period of eight to 10 years. According to the club, the sponsorship deals and VIP seats will provide €120m per year, more than ⅓ of the stadium's projected annual revenue of €347m.

© Eduardo Barea | Unofficial visualization of Camp Nou