Barça Announces Homecoming As Camp Nou Welcomes Back La Liga Football

‎Barcelona will finally return to Camp Nou, after 909 nights away. The Catalan club announced they have received a license to use 45,401 seats of the renovated stadium, which is still unfinished, for Saturday’s match against Athletic Club Bilbao.

‎The announcement comes after a series of missed targets and 10 days after a successful, smaller-scale test run in which a training session held there was attended by more than 20,000 supporters. The stadium will carry the name Spotify after a €280m title rights deal was agreed in February 2022.

‎Barcelona received an occupation licence for phase 1B of the new Camp Nou on Monday, enabling them to open the main stand and south end for the match against Athletic, a year later than planned.

‎The club has asked UEFA for permission to switch their official home ground from the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium to the new Camp Nou for the remainder of their Champions League campaign.

‎They are aiming to host Eintracht Frankfurt there on 9 December.

‎Camp Nou Seating Space Approved

‎A licence to occupy the first phase, 1A, of the under-construction stadium had been granted in mid-October, but that only allowed Barcelona to use 27,000 seats, so they decided to continue to play at Montjuïc, which has a capacity of more than 55,000.

‎Barcelona also had to play two matches this season at the 6,000-seat Johan Cruyff Stadium at their training ground due to scheduling clashes at Montjuïc.

‎The next occupation phase will open the north stand and push capacity beyond 60,000, with the fully completed stadium set to reach 105,000 seats.

‎Their last match at the old Camp Nou was against Mallorca in May 2023 under Xavi Hernández, marking the final appearances of Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba for the club.

‎Barcelona had planned to start this season at the new stadium and were allowed to play their first three games away to finish phase one of construction and secure the necessary licences.

‎The subsequent international break gave them additional time, but it still wasn’t enough. Just five days before their scheduled home match, the club confirmed they would instead host Valencia at the Johan Cruyff Stadium.

‎A Post Malone concert had prevented them from using Montjuïc and they also played Getafe at the Johan Cruyff, although they were subsequently able to return to the Olympic Stadium.

‎Work started on the stadium immediately after facing Mallorca in May 2023, carried out by the Turkish company Limark, which promised a quicker construction than other bids. The initial plan had been to play at the new stadium in front of 62,000 fans on the club’s 125th anniversary late last year.

‎“If there is not a pandemic or a worldwide catastrophe, we will open the Camp Nou on 29 November 2024,” said the vice-president, Elena Fort. Joan Laporta, the president, said that they would reopen with 70% capacity.

‎Barcelona subsequently expressed their hope that the stadium would be ready in December 2024, the new year, and then the spring in time for the clásico there in May 2025.

‎Laporta announced that Barcelona’s traditional pre-season curtain-raiser would be played at the Camp Nou on 10 August, under the slogan “we’re back”.

‎Barcelona are finally back. Last Sunday, Lionel Messi reportedly sneaked in to take a look around while the team played in Vigo; this Saturday, 45,450 fans will be able to welcome him through the doors of their new home.