Spanish champions Barcelona announced that they now plan to return to their renovated Camp Nou home only once they receive permission for a temporary capacity of 45,000 supporters.
This decision comes less than a week after Barca once again delayed their expected return to their iconic home stadium, which was initially slated for November 2024 before being postponed several times.
Previously, the Catalan giants had hoped to reopen their stadium once they secured a licence to host matches in front of 27,000 fans—something they anticipated obtaining last month.
The decision to wait until the temporary capacity is increased to 45,000 is almost certain to cause further delays in the re-opening of one of Europe’s great stadiums, after a redevelopment that has faced numerous setbacks. The club is estimated to be paying €1.5 billion ($1.75 billion) for the Camp Nou rebuild, which has been plagued by reconstruction chaos.
“Although we expect to soon receive the first occupancy licence for phase 1A, Barcelona will work towards returning to Spotify Camp Nou once the licence for phase 1B is obtained, which will expand the capacity to 45,000 spectators,” the club stated in a communication, without providing any indication of when that would occur.
Barcelona was humiliatingly forced to play two matches at their 6,000 capacity Johan Cruyff training ground in the early weeks of the season after failing to obtain the necessary permit for Camp Nou.
The city council stated in September that they would not allow Barcelona to return to the stadium, which will have a capacity of 105,000 when completed, due to safety concerns.
Barcelona confirmed on Tuesday that they will host their next La Liga game against Girona on October 18 at the Olympic stadium on the city’s Montjuïc hill. The club played there for the last two seasons while Camp Nou was closed and had to return there at the end of September following their two games at the small Johan Cruyff venue.
Barca also announced that their next Champions League match against Olympiakos will take place at the Olympic stadium on October 21. Their subsequent home games are against Elche on November 2 and Athletic Bilbao on November 23.
