Barcelona spent over two years away from Camp Nou before they were finally given permission to return to their redeveloped stadium last month. The Blaugrana have won all six home games since their return, including a 2-0 success over Osasuna in their most recent home outing on December 13.
With construction work still going on at the stadium, Barcelona are currently playing with a capacity limit of just over 45,000 spectators. The next step is for the club to obtain a category 1C license from the city council, which will allow them to welcome 62,000 fans to the iconic venue. Barcelona are hopeful that they will receive the license in time for their next home game against Real Oviedo on the weekend of January 25.
While that is a short-term objective, Sport are reporting that Barcelona's longer-term aim is to play with a full 105,000 capacity next season. Crucially, that is a goal shared with Limak – the construction company working on the stadium redevelopment.
Limak appear to be making progress in the construction work, as demonstrated by Ferran Barniol's recent YouTube video from inside the Camp Nou (see below), offering a view from the highest tier of the stadium.
Why could Barcelona return to Montjuic?
Given the progress being made on the Camp Nou, it may come as a surprise to some people that the club will need to return to Montjuic at some point in the future.
After making the venue their temporary home, Barcelona will need to play at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys again when the Camp Nou construction reaches the final stage. That is because the installation of the roof will stop Barcelona from playing at the Camp Nou for a period of time, although the exact date of the roof construction is currently unclear.
FGG says: A worthwile inconvience for the end goal
The reports that the redevelopment work is now progressing at a good speed can only be positive news for Barcelona supporters, who have been left frustrated with the slow pace of the construction over the last two years.
It will be an inconvenience to return to Montjuic for a period, but the end goal of a full Camp Nou will make it worthwhile. All of the club's stakeholders will be longing for the time when the redeveloped stadium can hold 105,000 supporters, which is when the stadium will be at its magical best.