2023-10-16 07:31:37
BarcelonaThe drought prevents one of the rituals of touristic Barcelona. The city’s ornamental fountains have stopped working by order of the Generalitat, including those of the Magical Fountain of Montjuïc, which attracted hundreds of excited visitors every night to see the show of light and water. “It’s lucky that Barça came to play here, that saved us. Because since the fountains didn’t work, this place was dead from mid-afternoon and the rent is very expensive,” explains Manel, the manager, to ARA from Bar les Cascades, located on Passeig Jean Forestier, just before the last flight of stairs that lead to the National Art Museum of Catalonia (MNAC). El Manel assures that the temporary suspension of the fountains – which began at the end of February – has caused the bars that were a little further down, in Plaça Carles Buïgas, to “continue not being in operation”. All four have their blinds down.
Since August, these stairs have been part of the route to get to Barça’s matches at the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium, where the first team of Spanish football plays while the Camp Nou is being remodeled. Thousands of people pass by before and after matches because the public is not allowed to drive to the stadium by private car. “Sales on a match day increase between 20 and 30% compared to a normal day. And if the match coincides with a concert – as happened on September 29 with Joaquín Sabina and Barça – Seville –, the increase goes up to 35%”, assures Manel referring to the numbers of his establishment.
All this, added to the multitudinous concerts that have taken place at the Olympic Stadium this spring and summer – from Coldplay to Harry Styles, via Bruce Springsteen –, currently allows him to have 13 people hired. “The terrace is usually full, but most people on match days order takeaway: beers, sandwiches and patates bravas, which is one of our specialities,” explains Manel proudly.
On the other hand, the establishments that are on a route towards the most parallel stadium, that of Carrer Lleida, in the middle of Poble-sec, have not noticed the arrival of Barça as much. “I see a lot of people passing by on the way to the stadium, but that hasn’t led to an increase in sales,” says Gea, the manager of Gea The Healthy Bakery. Their specialty is sweets, among which filled donuts stand out. “I don’t sell beer,” she says, aware that this hurts her when it comes to being a claim for supporters on a match day. But he doesn’t rule out making sandwiches when Barça plays.
Barça – Real Madrid, the trial by fire
“I’ve been in this business for 40 years and I continue to live off the lunches I make at noon for the workers who come to the fairs, because only with the consumption of the neighbors we don’t get enough to live on,” informs Mercedes, the manager of a restaurant that he could not have chosen a better name for his story: Ferial. In fact, despite the presence of Barça, for the moment it has decided to continue closing at mid-afternoon. But he has high hopes for Barça – Real Madrid, which will be played on October 28 at 4.15 p.m. – against Alabès on November 12, the Barcelona team will also compete at that time. “I hope that then some fans will come and have lunch here,” he wishes.
Other restaurants on Carrer Lleida, such as O Barco or El Manjar de las Brasas, do increase their turnover thanks to the massive arrival in Poble-sec of fans heading to the stadium. Plaça de Santa Madrona is also a center of concentration of supporters, despite the fact that the managers of the Carrefour Express on the corner consider that their sales have increased very little – and they are based on beer and prepared food – thanks to Barça. Nearby, at the taxi stand in front of the Intercontinental Hotel, several taxi drivers chat with each other as they wait for their turn. “It’s easier to work on a Barça match in Montjuïc than in Les Corts,” says one of them. “Here, without private vehicles, you can get in and out – taxis do have permission to get to the front of the stadium – quickly. On the other hand, at Camp Nou it took 20 minutes to get in and another 20 to get out,” he adds.
Little affectation in the neighborhood as a whole
“In general, the arrival of Barça in Montjuïc has not affected trade in Poble-sec. Neither for better nor for worse,” reports Manel Tort, president of the Poble-sec and Paral·lel Merchants’ Association. “But the restoration in particular, in some cases and in some hours, comes out winning”, he clarifies. This association, along with others from the neighborhood, complains that, since March, they want a meeting with the institutional vice-president of Barça, Maria Elena Fort, with the intention of working together with the club on its temporary presence in the area, and seven months later, they still haven’t heard back.
Bloody followers
The worst moment for the traders from Poble-sec in the two months that they have been living with Barça took place during the preview of the match on the first day of the group stage of the Champions League against Antwerp on September 19 . A thousand Belgian fans passed through Carrer Lleida and there were throwing objects and confrontations with Culeran supporters and Mossos d’Esquadra that ended with six officers injured. “Suddenly, seven or eight bloodied and drunk Belgian fans entered the pharmacy asking us to treat them,” explains Antonio, one of the managers of the Aranzana Pharmacy. “We told them to call the police, but they told us that it was precisely the police who had injured them. We then recommended that they call an ambulance because there was nothing we could do,” he continues.
After these incidents, the neighborhood associations asked the City Council and Barça to get involved to prevent events like these from happening again. As ARA has been able to learn, work is being done so that there will be one during the previews of the European matches fan zone to the Olympic Ring – a proposal from the neighbors – that allows visiting fans to be in a controlled area away from urban centers. Barça’s next home Champions League game will be on October 25 against Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk.
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