FC Barcelona Will Return to the New Camp Nou on This Date
Elena Fort, the vice president of the institutional area of FC Barcelona and responsible for the 'Espai Barça', confirmed that the club expects the Spotify Camp Nou to be ready to host matches before 2025, although she avoided giving an exact return date.
"The club is working to have the stadium ready to return before the end of the year. This is the message the club wants to convey and what we work on every day," Fort explained at a press conference held at the Auditori 1899 to outline the expected timelines and the format for the return to the Spotify Camp Nou.
However, Fort clarified that "many reasons and circumstances can affect the exact return date," such as obtaining the necessary permits, and "for prudence," the club is working with the expectation of having "a few weeks of leeway" in case the return to the stadium ends up being in January.
Nonetheless, the vice president specified that it’s "a window of weeks and not months" and ruled out the possibility of Barcelona playing the entire season at the Estadio Olímpico Lluís Companys. The last scheduled match for 2024 is a Barcelona-Atlético de Madrid game, part of the 18th round of LaLiga EA Sports, set for the weekend of December 21-22. The next home game for the Blaugrana will be the weekend of January 25-26 against Valencia in the 21st round of the league.
Meanwhile, Joan Sentelles, the director of operations for 'Espai Barça', explained that the contract with the construction company Limak is being "strictly followed." He also revealed that the club is negotiating an extension of the contract with, to use the Estadio Olímpico Lluís Companys until March 31 "for prudence."
"The permits shouldn’t be a problem. We know that the City Council is working to meet the deadlines. Our budget assumes that the first half of the league and the group stage of the Champions League will be played at the Olímpico, and the second half at Camp Nou. Any day we move ahead will create a surplus," he noted.
The Spotify Camp Nou will reopen with a capacity of 62,000 people, about 60% of the over 104,000 seats projected when the stadium is fully operational for the start of the 2026-2027 season.
Fort explained that the condition of season ticket holders at the Spotify Camp Nou will remain suspended while the capacity is partial and announced that the club will offer 45,000 season passes for the second half of LaLiga EA Sports and the Copa del Rey, which will be reduced to 40,000 for the Champions League knockout rounds due to spots reserved for visiting fans.
Season pass requests for the Spotify Camp Nou for the 2024-2025 season will be open from October 11 to 23, and all stadium members can apply. Meanwhile, the 17,699 members who purchased passes for the Estadio Olímpico Lluís Companys in the 2023-2024 season will have guaranteed seating if they wish.
If requests exceed available seats, the club will allocate passes through a draw on October 24. Similar to what happens at Montjuïc, members will choose a section of the stadium, but the specific seat will vary. Prices will range from 260 euros for the area behind the goals in the first tier to 755 euros for the main stand in the second tier.
Fort argued that the difference between the 62,000 capacity and the 45,000 season passes is due to the club's need to increase revenue, and Sentelles highlighted that the cost of playing at the Spotify Camp Nou will be "lower" than the current expenses at Montjuïc.
