Barça push for allowing Camp Nou construction to last until midnight to accelerate works

FC Barcelona has proposed allowing construction work at the Camp Nou to last until midnight in order to speed up the works.

Local media outlet Betevé published some days ago that there is a pre-agreement in place between the council and neighborhood groups for the extension of the works to be done without machinery or noise.

Currently, the work that done from Monday to Friday lasts until 8 pm, but the club want to extend this daily window of construction by four hours to speed up the process. The idea is that the tasks done late at night would be done on the interior of the stadium or silently.

Nothing has yet been authorized and the city council is in talks with all parties involved to achieve consensus on the Camp Nou works.

Barça currently play their home games in the Olympic Stadium in Montjuïc, and returning to the Camp Nou will be a hugely important element for their finances, as the larger capacity ground will allow for a higher matchday revenue. 

The Catalan club's financial problems in recent years have been well documented, with severe levels of debt and lowered income.

La Liga lowered the club's permitted budget in February by a further €66 million, down to €204 million, after previously being cut down from €400 million last September. This means that Barça will need to demonstrate that they have saved significant sums of money before they can then invest any further in their playing squad.  

Last summer, club president Joan Laporta unveiled his strategy of 'economic levers' to help the club's dire financial situation, which consisted in essentially selling off club assets, such as portions of Barça Studios, the club's in-house media company, as well as portions of future domestic television rights income. All of this served to give the club a necessary immediate cash injection. 

Laporta will be keen to return to the redeveloped Camp Nou as early as possible, as more fans on seats at games will mean more revenue generated.