FC Barcelona will play all this season’s remaining LaLiga and Champions League matches at the Olympic Stadium as construction at Spotify Camp Nou continues to be delayed.
ESPN said Barcelona had been hopeful of a return to Spotify Camp Nou this season, but progress in redeveloping and modernising the ground has been slow because more work was required on the second tier than initially planned.
The under-renovation 99,354-capacity Spotify Camp Nou is a stadium in Les Corts, Barcelona (Spain) and the home of the LaLiga club FC Barcelona since its opening in 1957.
The Spotify Camp Nou expansion and extensive renovation to lend it a state-of-the-art look is experiencing significant delays, however. The reopening is now likely to be pushed to September 2025 rather than the previously targeted March 2025.
The renovated arena will initially accommodate 60,000 fans while construction continues. It will ultimately expand to a capacity of 105,000 making it the largest stadium in Europe.
The club is presently playing at the 55,926-capacity Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona, Spain.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta had said several months ago that the club would be back in the Spotify Camp Nou stadium by March, coinciding with the knockout phase of the Champions League.
March was chosen because once Barça have played a home knockout game in the Champions League, they cannot change the venue where their home matches are played in Europe.
However, the latest announcement means that all remaining first-team matches will be played at the Olympic Stadium at Montjuïc.
Barça left Camp Nou in 2023 and the stadium renovations will increase the capacity to around 105,000, the highest in Europe.
In January, Barcelona requested an extension to the lease at the Olympic Stadium until the end of May to cover the Clásico against Real Madrid scheduled for that month.
Espai Barça is a €1.45 billion renovation project for FC Barcelona’s facilities in Barcelona, Spain.
The project includes the total transformation of the Barça home – the Spotify Camp Nou Stadium – and the 6,000-capacity Estadi Johan Cruyff operated by Barça and which comprises the club’s training facility and the youth academy.
The project is intended to improve the club’s future and help the club enjoy an edge in the soccer world.
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