The first phase of the process to acquire season passes – mid-season, in fact – ended without the need for any draw. There were around 27,500 for subscribers who had not been to Montjuïc. Since the more than 17,000 who did buy the pass already had reserved seats at the Camp Nou, the club decided to open the sale to the rest of the club’s members. The goal is to reach the amount of 45,000, which would mean direct income of around 20 million euros. “We need them to comply with the budget”, they admit in the economic area. The process ends on November 13 – on the 12th members without a season ticket will have one day to buy the pass – and Barça still does not want to provide data on how the sale is going.
However, it never rains to everyone’s liking and acquiring the passes, in some cases, has been controversial. In some areas, such as the central parts of the side, season tickets sold out in just 10 minutes. “I’ve had a seat on the side all my life, I’m on the side in Montjuïc and now I’ll have to go to the corner,” complains David to ARA. This partner has contacted the Barcelonista Support Office (OAB) to ask for a solution, but the answer has been evasive, admitting only that there was a lot of demand. The next step was to complain to the member’s trustee to get a better location. “I don’t have high hopes. There was supposed to be a pre-booking and there was room for everyone, and that hasn’t been the case.”
In reality, a similar problem already happened this summer in Montjuïc. Many of those who had taken a place in the corner or in the goal thought about improving the location. The club did not give any preference, everyone could buy from the same moment and a handful of fans were left with a nosebleed. “No one warned us that we had to run”, regrets Joan, forced to change the center of the field for the corner. This time he didn’t let himself get bogged down and bought the pass for the Camp Nou at 10:20, right when the form was opened.
Whether in Montjuïc or the Camp Nou, passes are a pain in the tooth and a reason for constant criticism of the OAB. Anyway, from the club they take iron and believe that there are not as many unhappy members as it seems. “We have received less than 100 communications in this regard”, point out official Barça sources, who justify the madness for the full-back’s tickets: “It is a sweet spot because it is cheap considering the visibility. There was a lot of interest, and that’s why the passes flew.” Also, since the stadium will not be covered, the difference in comfort between being on the sideline or in the stands is minimal. On the side it costs between 400 and 463 euros. In the stands, from 625 to 755. The only justification is to be on the side of the benches and therefore closer to the players.
Tourists fill the box
The frustration of those who have been left without the place they wanted has led to the suspicion that, in reality, the institution saves the best seats to sell them to tourists. A fact that the offices flatly deny: “It is not true that the best tickets are for commercial sale. The best are for members. It is a commitment acquired by the club.” With the full-back exhausted and the stands close to being sold out, it’s left to the corners and the goals.
Meanwhile, the uncertainty remains as to when he will actually return to the Camp Nou. It has also been a reason for some members to consult the OAB before purchasing the season ticket. “A man told us, all angry, that if we couldn’t tell him an exact date, he wouldn’t buy the pass”, they recall anecdotally at Barça. From the OAB, the answer has been political, along the lines of what vice-president Elena Fort explained: that they were working to return at the end of the year. The truth is that, the closer the date gets, the more it becomes clear that the work will not be completed either in December or January.
This uncertainty has slowed down some subscribers, who have decided to wait until next season to buy the pass. With the Free Seat deactivated, the club’s stance of not returning the equivalent money in the event that – as is entirely likely – fewer matches are played than planned at the Camp Nou has also been negatively influenced. In the noble offices, however, they know that this will raise dust and clarify that, when the time is right, they will find a way to compensate for it.
