Joan Laporta has admitted that he has been left upset by the delay in obtaining the 1C license required to increase the capacity at Barcelona's Spotify Camp Nou.
After spending over two years away from Camp Nou, Barcelona finally returned to their home in November with a reduced capacity of just over 45,000 supporters. While Hansi Flick's side have been allowed to play at the Camp Nou, construction work has continued in a bid to reach the next key checkpoint in the redevelopment process.
However, Barcelona are yet to meet the requirements to obtain the 1C license, which would allow the club to further increase the stadium's capacity to around 62,000.
Laporta delivers latest Camp Nou redevelopment update
In the final interview of his current stint as Barcelona president, Laporta has expressed his frustration with the delay in reopening key areas of the stadium.
“It’s something that’s really upsetting me,” Laporta said as relayed by GOAL. “It’s obvious that this part of the stadium is also finished, the North Stand. We’re told that the access needs improvement, and we’re working on it.”
“The problem is that it was supposed to be ready by the first week of January; it’s February now, and we still haven’t received the permits for the North Stand and the Supporters’ Stand, the 1957 Stand.
“I’m disappointed because we should have them, but we’ve learned that things move slowly.”
After beating Mallorca 3-0 at Camp Nou on Saturday, Barcelona will head on the road for their next two matches. The Blaugrana will face Atletico Madrid in Thursday's Copa del Rey semi-final first leg at the Metropolitano, before they face Catalan rivals Girona in La Liga on January 16.
The aim is to get everything in place to receive the 1C license in time for the club's next home game against Levante on February 22.
FGG says: More stadium frustration for Barcelona
Unfortunately for Barcelona, the failure to meet deadlines has been a recurring theme with the Camp Nou redevelopment. They had to wait until November 2025 to return to the stadium – a year after the initial deadline.
They are now experiencing similar frustration in their bid to open up more areas of the ground, although there is hope that they could complete the work required to welcome 62,000 supporters to their iconic ground sooner rather than later.