412 days of work, more than 5,700 employment contracts and 73,500 cubic metres demolished. On 1 June 2023, work began on the future Spotify Camp Nou, which is getting closer to opening its doors to Barça members, but still has a lot of work ahead of it. Barcelona will play again in its renovated and legendary stadium at the end of the year, although with 60% of the final capacity – around 64,000 seats -, two stands and still without the final roof. “We are putting all our efforts into being ready to play matches at the end of this year,” confessed Elena Fort, Barça’s institutional vice president in an extensive press conference on the progress of the work. An “exercise in absolute transparency,” she assured at the beginning and end of the presentation. With an investment of 1.45 billion euros in the Espai Barça —1.071 billion are destined for the stadium, of which 342 have already been spent—, it is expected that the Spotify Camp Nou will host 100% of its use —104,200 fans— in August 2026, with an expected annual income of 347 thousand euros. Although it will not be until the second half of 2027 when the works on the Palau Blaugrana and the urbanization of the streets and the Campus will be finished. “But there are imponderables that we cannot control,” said Joan Sentelles, director of operations of the club, next to Fort.
“The changes are very quantitative,” Sentelles continued. For a year now, work has been done to get the first and second tier, which are protected by heritage, ready, and which they have only been able to repair. As a result, Lluís Moya, technical director of Espai Barça, assured that they have not been able to lower the pitch, which remains 37 metres above sea level. Although it is now occupied by trucks, cement mixers, mounds of earth and piles of material yet to be placed. A cloud of dust fills the place, and the only noise that can be heard is that of the drill. The first tier will also maintain its geometry, and the animation tier – located in the south goal – will lower its height to allow those behind it to improve their view. The third, however, is barely visible in the form of black and red beams.
“We are making every effort to have the first and second stands ready by the end of the year, both in terms of their operation and accessibility. Then we will continue with the work and the roof,” Moya continued. The next step will be the third stand, which has been completely demolished and will be newly built. “We carried out a study and saw that it was in very bad shape. The concrete had a very short lifespan, 20 years. So it was decided to demolish it and build a new one,” Sentelles explained about the third stand, which will not be ready until the summer of 2026. “We have taken and divided the stadium into two parts: the upper and the lower. This allows us to keep the work separate from the public and, in a practical way, while there is no match, we can work,” Moya pointed out.
To access this highest part of the stadium there will be “thirty lifts” available and “escalators”, assured the director of operations. In addition, the new Spotify Camp Nou will have two VIP rings located between the second and third tier with around 7,500 spaces, a boulevard of shops and restaurants at street level and three screens. Two underground parking floors will also be opened, with a final capacity of between 3,000 and 4,000 spaces. Above the stadium there will be a roof of 50,000 square metres, which will begin to be built in the summer of 2025. “When the 2025/26 season starts we will have the network of cables, the structure, but it will not be installed. Throughout the season we will open the third tier to the general public. We expect to have the stadium in use for the 2026/27 season, although there will surely be some elements to correct”, confessed Moya.
Some problems have arisen as the works progress. For example, with the residents of the Les Corts neighbourhood. “The City Council believes that residents have the right to rest from the works on Saturdays. We ask to work every day of the week: we need a million and a half hours,” confessed Sentelles. Another inconvenience will be the Champions League group stage matches, since UEFA establishes in its regulations that they must be played in the same stadium. “It is very possible that the last match of the group stage will be played in Montjuïc,” admitted Sentelles.
“The figures are huge. We are at a time when we are building an Agbar Tower every month and a half. We are trying to keep to a very high deadline and construction pressure, because in 18 months we will have built a new stadium for 104,000 people,” concluded the operations director. From December, the intention is to combine the works with the matches. At the moment, a small box can be seen in one of the stands: these are some of the few seats that have been placed and covered by a blue tarp.
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