Barcelona’s return to their Camp Nou stadium has been further delayed until May at the earliest.
Work to refurbish the Camp Nou and increase its capacity to 105,000 — the largest in European football — began in June 2023.
The Catalan club’s original plan was to return to playing at their home stadium before the end of 2024, with Barca president Joan Laporta outlining their aim to re-open at a reduced capacity to mark the club’s 125th anniversary on November 29.
In October however, the club said the return would not take place in 2024 and would instead happen in the “second half” of the season, while in November this was pushed back again until at least February — with a further three months now added to the timescale.
Barcelona have been playing their home games at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, the Montjuic venue for the 1992 Olympic Games, while refurbishment work takes place on the Camp Nou.
In an email to the club’s socios, Barcelona confirmed their agreement to play at Montjuic would be extended until April 23, which would encompass their home match against Real Mallorca on that weekend.
Barca’s next scheduled home fixture would be against Real Madrid on May 10, a situation that has been complicated by the Rolling Stones having a scheduled gig at Montjuic on the same weekend as that scheduled fixture.
The club have a contract with Barcelona’s city council to play at the stadium until March 31, but that has now been extended until the end of April as works continues for the Camp Nou’s redevelopment.
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Barcelona and builders Limak have agreed a date of June 2026 for the ground to be completed — with current costs for the project at €900million (£766m; $984m at present rates).
Remaining at Montjuic for the remainder of the season is a significant financial blow to Barcelona.
For the 2023-24 season, it was estimated that playing at Montjuic would cost the club about €90million (£75m; $100m at current rates), taking into account lost revenue and money spent to get the ground match-ready.
In September, the price of the Camp Nou reconstruction project was projected to be €900m, with costs for the wider Espai Barca project — of which the stadium renovation is the most significant part — were put at €1.5billion. According to the official Espai Barca website, the project “involves remodelling all the facilities that Barcelona has in the Les Corts neighbourhood of Barcelona, and the Johan Cruyff Stadium at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper in Sant Joan Despi”.
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Attendances at Montjuic have been lower than expected and the club have been forced to cut ticket prices in an attempt to boost demand.
Only 17,552 fans out of 80,274 season-ticket holders took up the option to move to Montjuic when the club had made 27,385 places available.
Barcelona are currently third in La Liga, winning 11 of their first 12 matches before picking up just five points in their most recent seven league games.
Hansi Flick’s side are six points behind league leaders Atletico Madrid and five points from second-placed Real Madrid.
Barcelona return to action with a trip to Getafe on January 18 before travelling to Benfica three days later in the Champions League.
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Camp Nou delay creates fresh headache for Barcelona
This is the confirmation of something well-expected in Barcelona. The Camp Nou revamping is behind schedule, and right now it remains unclear if Barca will be able to play there before the end of the campaign.
That is not great news for the club, who had in return to their stadium a resource to increase their matchday revenues for the second half of the season. However, all the rumours steaming from the club’s board were pointing in that direction.
Barca’s vice president Elena Fort confirmed in an interview to local radio station RAC1 that there had been some contingencies with the works, and that as of now there is not an established date to come back at their stadium.
Executive sources keep insisting their plan is to return before the end of the season, even if it is on a one-off occasion. However, there is a looming problem around the corner.
On May 11, a couple of weeks after the end of this new license extension, Barca are expected to host Real Madrid in the second Clasico of La Liga this season.
The game was expected to be played at the Camp Nou, as Barcelona projected to be back at their stadium with limited capacity by the start of 2025. On that very same day, The Rolling Stones will be in the city performing in a concert that was expected to be hosted (guess where) at Montjuic.
Now there is a risk that Barca will still need Montjuic by May 11, and either The Rolling Stones’ concert or the Clasico will have to find a new venue. At this point, and despite club sources insisting with their optimism on being back at the Camp Nou, all scenarios are open.
Pol Ballus
(Urbanandsport/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
