Barcelona’s stadium drama explained: Camp Nou returned delayed yet again over permitting issues

Barcelona moved the Joan Gamper Trophy exhibition match on 10 August from Camp Nou to Estadi Johan Cruyff, and still marked a delay in the club’s plans to reopen their stadium due to an ongoing renovation project.

The champions of La Liga will play como next month in a match that had to mark their return to Camp Nou, but allowing problems will now make it impossible to play at the location on that date.

“This decision is due to the fact that the work required to meet the requirements of the regulation that regulates municipal intervention procedures in construction works, made it impossible to complete the procedures needed to grant the first license,” the club said in a statement. “In particular, because of the scale of the work carried out, it is not possible to meet all the conditions laid down by the regulations for this license, despite the intention of the club to reopen the redeveloped stadium sector per sector.”

The 6000-seat places Estadi Johan Cruyff, where the ladies team plays regularly, will organize the competition instead. Barcelona mainly played in Estadi Olimpic Lluis Company while Camp Nou is undergoing renovations, a stadium with 55,926.

Waiting to see when Barcelona returns to Camp Nou will now extend until September 14, when the first home game of the La Liga season is planned against Valencia. That competition will still take place in Camp Nou, although the location would still be in the last phases of its construction project and the stadium would not be open at full capacity.

Here is an explanation about the Camp Nou renovation project, while waiting for Barcelona to go into their famous stadium again continues.

When did Barcelona play for the last time in Camp Nou?

The last game of Barcelona in Camp Nou was on May 28, 2023 in a 3-0 win against Mallorca. Ansu Fati scored a brace and Robert Lewandowski also came on the score sheet, while the game was the last time that Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets played for the club before he came to MLS Inter Miami.

Which renovations take place in Camp Nou?

There have been plans to expand and renovate Camp Nou in 2007, but the current construction project was confirmed in April 2022 and started after the conclusion of the 2022-23 season. The most important focus of the project was the demolition of the third level to expand the capacity of Camp Nou from 99,000 to 105,000, so that it would be four largest stadium in the world, but other parts of the stadium will be updated during construction.

“The work will focus on the first and second tier, technological aspects, The Environs of the Stadium, and exterior urbananization,” Barcelona Said in a statement in April 2022. Anti-carbonation and waterproofing of the stands, as well as structural finishes and the improvement and renovation of retransmission systems.

“With regard to technology, the plan is to install new telecommunications connections to move the data processing center, to create a technical room for monitoring internal telecommunications -infrastructures and to install the new facilities for TV compound, for parking mobile TV units.”

What is the timeline for the return from Barcelona to Camp Nou?

Barcelona initially expected to be back in Camp Nou for the 2023-24 season with 50 percent capacity, while the last phases of the construction project continued before they returned to full capacity for the 2024-25 season. However, various construction -related delays have pushed out the date of their return.

The club will now focus on September 14 as the earliest possible return to Camp Nou, when Barcelona is planned to play Valencia in their opening house match of the coming season. If they make the date, the location is open with a capacity of 50 percent.