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Barcelona stadium renovation: Latest news of Camp Nou in July 2023

What is the latest news regarding the Barcelona stadium renovation? We have you covered in this article.

The famous Camp Nou stadium, which is the home of FC Barcelona, is currently unrecognisable due to the renovation that is ongoing.

Camp Nou History

Having opened in 1h957 to replace the former stadium of FC Barcelona, Les Courts. The official capacity when first built was 93,053, but that was increased to 120,000 for the 1982 FIFA World Cup. However, due to new regulations outlawing standing areas, the capacity was reduced to just under 99,000.

Why is the Barcelona stadium renovation taking place?

The initial intention for the current renovation was to make Camp Nou the third largest stadium in the world behind the Narendra Modi Stadium in India which has a capacity of 132,000 and the Rungrado 1st of May Stadium in North Korea, which can seat 114,000 spectators. Due to the dire financial situation at the club, some of the plans for the renovation were scrapped to keep to a budget of $900m.

What will the stadium look like once the Camp Nou renovation is completed?

The renovated Camp Nou will be fitted with a retractable roof with solar panels that will “be used to power the new 360-degree screen that will run around the entire interior of the stadium.”

The stadium's exterior will also have a new look, with office complexes being built as well as a variety of entertainment spaces.

The work officially began in early July 2022, but the stand's demolition behind the south gate did not start until September 1, 2022. The early work included removing elements of the rear of the stand and dismantling the central section of the top floor of the auditorium.

Those works were to be followed by the construction of new stairs and escape routes to restore the use of the seats not included in the remodelling on the first and second floors.

Barceloan stadium renovation
Photo by Icon Sport

Work began with the removal of the scoreboard and the removal of just under 4,000 seats, most of which were occupied by season pass holders who were offered a move to a similar area elsewhere in the stadium or they were offered a temporary deferral of payment.

With the Qatar FIFA World Cup taking place in the winter of 2022, it gave the renovation a boost due to their being no games played at Camp Nou.

This allowed for the dismantling of the reinforced concrete elements of the stand with the entire work being completed by the end of 2022 coming to a cost of $4.6 million. Erri Berri was the company contracted for this part of the renovation.

However, the work on the south stand was only a prelude to the start of the stadium renovation. The work started in full after the conclusion of Barcelona’s title-winning La Liga season.

Where will Barcelona play while the Camp Nou renovation is ongoing?

In early 2023, it was announced that the Turkish construction company, Limak, had won the contract to become the main contractor.

Due to the renovation, Barcelona will temporarily move to the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys which is located about 4 kilometres south-east of Camp Nou for the duration of the 2023/24 season. Due to the capacity of the Olympic Stadium being just 56,000, a significant number of Barcelona fans will have to cancel their season tickets.

FC Barcelona can return home in the 2024/25 season, but the capacity will have to be halved with the full renovation expected to be complete by the end of 2025.

The latest update in July 2023

In a video captured by Mundo Deportivo, a large majority of the seats appear to have already been moved and the process of demolishing the concrete beams has begun.