Espai Barça project top gun Àlex Barbany quit

Article posted by Coliseum, October 3^rd, 2023

Image: Coliseum GSVA

Àlex Barbany, Executive Director of Espai Barça, has quit the ambitious project of the LaLiga club FC Barcelona in the midst of the Barça home – the Spotify Camp Nou in Barcelona, Spain – being demolished to be remodeled. He has left FC Barcelona.

‘elperiodico.com’ stated that the above development has been communicated internally by the Barcelona entity, which has not given any specific reason for the exit of the Head of Operations of the Barcelona facilities. The top-flight has not put up a stiff resistance to Barbany’s exit who was calling the shots of the Espai Barça project.

Alex Barbany was one of the Speakers at the 2023 Coliseum Summit EUROPE held at the Twickenham Stadium in London, UK, in March this year.

The Futbol Club Barcelona, commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça, is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in LaLiga, the top flight of Spanish football.

Camp Nou, branded as Spotify Camp Nou for sponsorship reasons, is the home of the LaLiga club FC Barcelona since its completion in 1957. With a current seating capacity of 99,354, it is the stadium with the largest capacity in Spain and Europe, and the fifth largest football stadium in the world.

The Espai Barça project is a large-scale infrastructure redevelopment project to improve (and expand) all of FC Barcelona’s infrastructure including their training facilities, the Spotify Camp Nou Stadium, the Palau Blaugrana, the club’s offices as well as the commercial and leisure facilities.

The Palau Blaugrana is an arena in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, belonging to FC Barcelona. The 7,585 seating capacity arena is home to the basketball, handball, roller hockey, and futsal divisions of FC Barcelona. The Palau Blaugrana is located in the same complex that houses the Spotify Camp Nou Stadium.

As the Espai Barça project to revamp the club’s sporting facilities is underway, the Barça are playing their official home matches at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona, Spain.

The 55,926-capacity Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys is a stadium in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Originally built in 1927 for the 1929 International Exposition in the City, it was renovated in 1989 to be the main stadium for the 1992 Summer Olympics and 1992 Summer Paralympics.

‘elperiodico.com’ further stated that Barbany’s exit is the third major departure from Espai Barça within a short span of time. Previously, Jordi Llauradó, the Manager responsible for the project, left shortly after the controversial hiring of the Turkish company Limak to carry out the mammoth reform of the stadium was announced. And before Llauradó, Ramon Ramírez chose to quit over the Limak issue as it is reported that Limak was given preference over much established companies.

Turkey-based Limak Holding A.S. is a Turkish conglomerate with major interests in construction, energy, cement, and tourism. Its assets include the Limak Cement and Limak Energy companies and the Limak Tourism Group. In 2012, it had reaped circa $260m revenue from its construction business.

Barbany joined the club in March 2021 as the Chief Revenue Officer and in March 2022 he was given the responsibility of spearheading the Espai Barça project. Barbany’s name was even proposed as the head honcho of Barça.

Earlier, in an interview given to the now defunct BarçaTV, Barbany pointed out, “The main objective of the Espai Barça project is to give a spiffy and chic look to the Spotify Camp Nou and the club’s sporting facilities so that the cash registers jingle and we also stay ahead of the curve. Of course, the pristine sheen of the majestic facility will remain untouched.”

Sadly, Barbany is no longer in the organization to oversee the thick-of-construction Espai Barça project work presently underway.

The Spotify Camp Nou revamp work will now be led by Joan Sentelles who enjoys close proximity to the Barça President Joan Laporta.

The demolition work to remodel the Spotify Camp Nou is moving full steam ahead. Sources stated that Barbany was not being included lately in the major decision-making exercise and this may be a reason for his departure. The major part of Barbany’s professional career has been devoted to working with the real estate sector and he is an ace in this field.

Continue to follow Coliseum for latest updates on venues business news. Coliseum is dedicated towards building the best global community of sports and entertainment venue executives and professionals creating better and more profitable venues.

Become a member of the only Global Sports Venue Alliance and connect with stadiums, arenas and experts from around the world. Apply for membership at www.coliseum-online.com/alliance and make use of the 365Coliseum Business.