December 19 – The highly anticipated return of FC Barcelona to their spiritual home, the iconic Camp Nou, looks set to be delayed yet again.
The multi-million Euro project has encountered a string of setbacks, and now it appears that the team will not be playing at home until next season despite Barca president, Joan Laporta, insisting the intention remains to play there from March.
The stadium costs have been estimated at €900 million, with costs for the wider Espai Barca project at €1.5 billion.
Originally the plan was for Barca to return to the Camp Nou in November to mark the club’s 125th anniversary, but that date has disappeared into the ether of construction.
Laporta is now pushing for a March 2025 date, which would be timed for the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League, but reports are that even that date looks unlikely.
As with any major construction project the devil is in the details and progress in the development has been slowed as more work than was previously expected needs to be carried out on the second tier of the stadium.
Then there is the question of the playing surface. The Camp Nou pitch is more akin to a golf putting green, however, the playing surface is still covered in machinery. To properly install a world-class pitch requires up to three months of preparation to allow nature to take its course and allow the surface to bed in.
Laporta’s insistence that the club return home in March is based on a number of factors including the UEFA provision that once Barça have played a home knockout game in the Champions League, they cannot change the venue for their home matches for the rest of the season.
Final completion of the stadium is slated for the summer of 2026 with a projected capacity of around 105,000. In the meantime, as construction continues the attendance will initially be capped at around 60,000.
Contact the writer of this story, Nick Webster, at moc.l1734596132labto1734596132ofdlr1734596132owedi1734596132sni@o1734596132fni1734596132
