After a long renovation
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After almost two and a half years of construction and a year late, FC Barcelona is returning to its home stadium. As the Catalans announced, the game on matchday 13 of LaLiga against Athletic Bilbao will be played this Saturday (4:15 p.m.) at the Camp Nou. Coach Hansi Flick’s team recently held a public training session there.
The capacity is currently 45,401 spectators, Barça also announced. At the same time, work is being done to obtain the next approvals in order to open further parts of the completely renovated legendary stadium to fans. In the Champions League, the aim is to have the game against Eintracht Frankfurt take place at the Camp Nou on December 9th. The necessary requirements for this have been met, but confirmation is still pending.
The number of admitted fans will gradually be increased. When everything is finished, according to various reports, the stadium will be able to hold between 104,000 and 105,000 people. Before the renovation there were 99,000. According to media reports, it could take until December 2027 until it is fully usable. According to media reports, the construction costs amount to around 1.4 billion euros.
At the end of May 2023, Barça played the last regular game at the Camp Nou before the construction workers arrived. The renovation should actually have been completed in autumn 2024. However, problems with construction companies, the statics, the security concept and escape routes under a new roof as well as city requirements caused delays. The return will be a first for Flick, as he has only been training the team since the summer of 2024.