New name for Camp Nou? Barca ready to unveil stadium plans
Barcelona’s plans for the future of the Camp Nou could be unveiled in early June according to club spokesman Toni Freixas.
Several proposals have now been reviewed by the board including total renovation of the existing facilities and construction of a brand new stadium.
In order to balance the budget of any project it is thought that the board, led by Sandro Rosell, has explored the possibility of selling the naming rights to the stadium – a move which could earn the club in excess of 15 million Euros a year. This would be represent a radical change of ideology for the club whose members only recently embraced the concept of shirt sponsorship.
The cost of the final project will also be funded by improved corporate facilities, an area that the Club recognises as being in need of improvement.
The stadium plans are an integral part of the clubs ambitions to modernise the facilities from top to bottom for players and spectators of all sports at the Club. This will include reformation of the Palau Blaugrana which will see the capacity of the multi-purpose indoor arena increase from 7,585 to 10,000; the venue is currently home to the basketball, handball, roller hockey and futsal teams of FC Barcelona.
An announcement is expected in the first half of June.
A farewell letter from the Board of UD Carboneras
UD Carboneras from Almeria are yet another lower league Spanish teams to finally go out of business this year. The Tercera division is the fourth tier of Spanish football and is a harsh environment, especially in the current economic climate. This season has already seen the demise of other teams from the Tercera division and Segunda B as previously reported on this blog.
It is a sad situation and one that goes widely unreported, even in Spain. So we will leave the stricken Directors of UD Carboneras to have the final word on this subject by publishing this poignant farewell message to their fans:
“It is over; we have sunk, after many waterways we have not been able to avoid the last torpedo; we were directly in the line. We have tried to bail the water, sail in lifeboats, but they have also been punctured. We grabbed the timber and then at the last moment, we have swum to shore, but we have not succeeded. It’s a shame, but we have gone to the seabed.
We have long experienced calms and storms, casting our hooks into seas that were formerly forbidden to people like us, people who work hard with hope and sacrifice.
We started with a small rowboat, but we embarked on larger ships little by little, with much dedication. We also changed our small pier for a marina that everyone can enjoy, as can be seen any evening.
During this time we have shipped many crews, who have fought many battles, leaving many of them winners. We have fought galleons, pirates, and all enemies for the sole purpose of bearing the name of our people’s flag.
In recent years, many people helped us when we had to set sail and weather the storm, and others came up to our brig to enjoy the good weather and bath in the sea of football.
In the end, we all fade into the background, knowing what we saved, as to have good captains, first there are children. We have built a shipyard in case any captain is to embark on another journey, but bear in mind that we will always have the white clouds and blue sea, as the colours of our ship.
For those who have helped us to cross the seas, heartfelt thanks.
Attentively
The Board of UD Carboneras”
A welcome return to Nou Estadi de Tarragona
Yes, its been a while but after taking a break to work on another project (news to follow), I will be paying some more attention to this poor, neglected blog; and what better way to start than paying a trip next week to the Nou Estadi in Tarragona where the seemingly doomed Club Gimnàstic de Tarragona will take on Girona FC.
There is still plenty of football to be played, with six games remaining in Liga Adelante, and mathematically, Nastic can still stay up but it looks increasingly unlikely. The recent good form of Girona however, has given the team from the north of Catalonia genuine survival hopes.
It might be too much to hope for a full stadium but the atmosphere should be good as the two teams from Catalonia meet on Wednesday evening.
You can check out the stadium here
Picture courtesy of Chris Clements (@estadios_Spain)
CF Palencia ROCKS!
A benefit concert for Segunda División B – Group 2 side CF Palencia is taking place this Saturday 4 February 20:00h at the Frontón de la Ensenada.
The concert is one of two that have been organised to raise crucial funds for the club that has, like many in the division, struggled to make ends meet this season.
Confirmed acts for the event are:
Lujuria, Azrael, Invadeath, Lacrima and Polvora.
Tickets are priced at 12€ in advance and 15€ on the night and can be purchased in the town from: Disco Center, Disco Bar Maldito Duende, Estación Sonora and from the club offices.
Tickets are also available online here
CF Palencia have enjoyed some improvement on the pitch in recent weeks and will hope they can carry their form into this weekend’s clash with Ponferradina, who are currently in second place behind Copa del Rey heroes CD MIrandes.
The Club is hoping for strong support on and off the pitch this weekend.
You may remember CF Palencia from this blog article I did earlier in the season extolling the virtues of their superb stadium. So if you are in the North of Castilla y León this weekend make sure you get along to show your support and help to prevent yet another team from disappearing from the league.
Struggling Segunda B clubs withdrawn from competition and more could follow
This Week has seen both Sporting Villanueva and Polideportivo Ejido withdraw from Group IV of Segunda División B after continued financial problems left them unable to field teams for this weekend’s fixtures. This is the second week in a row that they have been unable to compete and under league rules they must be expelled from the competition.
Sporting has announced that the club will be dissolved at the end of the season after the proposed take-over from Galician Businessman Alejandro Remiseiro fell through. They are the second team from Extremadura to disappear in the last year after the recent demise of Cerro de Reyes.
The future of Poli Ejido looks slightly more promising as they have already been taken over and the new owners intend to rebuild relationships with local business and investment partners and keep the club afloat. If they do stay in business, they will have to play their football in the Tercera División.
Other lower league clubs are experiencing similar financial problems including CF Palencia who have announced a restructuring of their board this week. They will also be holding two benefit concerts with the aim of raising much needed funds for the club; the first, on 27th January will be a dance event featuring DJ sets, the second on 4th February will feature live rock bands.
**update**
It appears Poli Ejido turned up for their game against Lorca Atlético today but only fielded seven players. The match against Lorca still went ahead and they lost 14-0; the game is expected to be their last in the league this season barring a miracle reprieve.
**update**
Poverty-stricken Segunda B teams face expulsion after failing to play matches
The uncomfortable truth behind the financial woes of lower League Spanish football has begun to rear its ugly head again today as two Segunda División B Group IV teams failed to present themselves for the latest round of matches.
Club Polideportivo Ejido, S.A.D.
Sporting Villanueva and Polideportivo Ejido will both have to forfeit their matches 3-0 under league rules and will be excluded from the league altogether if it happens again.
Sportings problems have been caused by the consistent non-payment of wages to their disillusioned players, most of who are now entitled to leave the club on free transfers. As a result the team refused to show up for the latest fixture against CD Badajoz, casting doubt over the future of the team from Extremadura. The team was only founded in 1993 after the disappearance of the town’s previous club, Villanueva del Fresno.
Sporting Villanueva Promesa
The problems echo those of Polideportivo Ejido who have already lost several players on free transfers after non-payment of wages. The club has changed ownership this week but they only had 3 first team players and eleven youth team players available and the game against CF Villanovense did not go ahead. The Andalusian Club now faces a race against time to recruit players for the next match in order to remain in the league and stay in business. Both teams currently reside in the bottom four of Group IV of the Segunda Division.
The embarrassing incident has been played down by much of the mainstream Spanish media but the economic issues are not going away and if they are not confronted then the future of other teams across the leagues may also be threatened.
Latest Segunda División Goleadores January 9 2012
GOLEADORES
13 Ulloa (UD Almería)
10 Joselu (Villarreal CF B)
10 Camacho (SD Huesca)
9 Ángel (Elche CF)
8 Javi Guerra (Real Valladolid CF)
8 David Rodríguez (RC Celta)
8 Corominas (Girona FC)
