The partners ratify Espai Barça overwhelmingly

The Barça space it is already a common goal. Of all the culés. Not only of a directive (that of Josep Maria Bartomeu, who devised and projected it), or another (that of Joan Laporta, which will run it). It belongs to all the Catalans, summoned this Sunday to sign and support the previous agreements, such as the 2014 referendum on a project of 600 million or the vote of the last assembly of delegates of the financing model for an amount of 1,500 million. In the first full and exclusively telematic consultation, about half of the members with the right to vote (110,159 people, over 18 years of age and one year old) participated in the consultation.

A total of 42,693 people voted in favor of the proposal, which represents 87.8% of the votes cast, while 5,005 votes were counted against (10.4%). There were 875 blank votes (1.8%). 48,623 members participated in the call, which represented 44.14% of potential voters. The overwhelming majority unleashed the joy of the leadership of Laporta, which received with applause the results, communicated by Pere Joan Daniel, the partner president of the consultation board.

“historical” trip

Joan Laporta verbalized the euphoria of the leadership, describing the day as “historic” both for the confirmation of the October results and for the success of the telematic vote. “I can say with all forcefulness that the Barcelona Football Club has demonstrated its democratic vocation, the strength of its governance model and its innovative spirit, in addition to its global and inclusive will,” said the president in his speech, which he repeated in Spanish and English with variants.

🔵🔴 REFERÉNDUM BARÇA

❝ We assume responsibility and we will do it with great efficiency and transparency ❞

– @joanlaportafcb – pic.twitter.com/v78BFYGQdR

– FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_es) December 19, 2021

Votes flew from all over the world, since only 45,496 members live in the city of Barcelona (57,496 in the rest of Catalonia and 7,495 in the other countries). The referendum inaugurated a path of democratization in decision-making that, at the same time, calls on the board to explore new avenues of participation.

The use of the telematics system for the first time as a participation mechanism was a success, freeing the board of concern about the outcome of the procedure. “This opens the door to new consultations,” suggested Laporta, “seeing that we know how to do it and do it well.” To that satisfaction was added another: “We have become pioneers in the application of electronic voting in the large entities of European sport.”

Espai Barça is situated on the plane of reality. Once the plan has been approved, the cost redemption of a maximum of 1,500 million accepted, and assumed by the entire social mass, the Barça century project enters a new stage. Now the managers are granted between two and three months to sign the financing plan, already hinted at in the previous information sessions.

Four years of works

The club will agree with a financial company (presumably Goldman sachs) the granting of those 1,500 million that will be returned over 30 years, from the moment in which the reconstruction of the Camp Nou has been completed. The forecast is at the end of 2025; the frequent delay of the works, especially in the complex work that will be carried out in the stadium, invites us to suspect that it will carry over to the year 2026. “We will seek with efficiency and maximum transparency the best financing to make the collective dream of all the Catalans come true. “, guaranteed the president.

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The signing of the last papers of the bureaucracy and the touch-ups of the Palau Blaugrana project, which is undergoing modifications, should be settled before the end of May. The works would begin the day after the League ended: on May 22, Barça-Villarreal will be played.