The latest Spotify Camp Nou update puts Barça at risk of needing another ‘new home’ to complete the current Champions League campaign.
As we approach 2025, Barcelona are still to confirm a date for their long-awaited return to the Spotify Camp Nou. Heading into the New Year this uncertainty has major repercussions for the club’s financial situation and could complicate the season’s on-field targets.
Addressing the media earlier this week, club president Joan Laporta insisted that the intention was to return “as soon as possible” but also acknowledged that if the stadium is not ready by March then it may not be possible before the start of 2025/26 season. During an Extraordinary General Assembly to ratify a renewal agreement with Nike, vice president Elena Fort explained that the club is set to hold a meeting with Turkish construction company Limak to establish a concrete return date.
Having long maintained that the team would return to the Spotify Camp Nou for the club’s 125th anniversary celebrations in November 2024, Barcelona now face a race against time to make it back to the ancestral home this season. Laporta had claimed that the threat of financial penalties against Limak - €1 million per day - would help the club recoup any lost revenue in the event of a delay. However the company has been able to avoid these fines because they occurred through unforeseen events, such as permit delays, poor weather and labour shortages.
Each matchday away from the Camp Nou brings more frustration for the club and its fans but things could be about to get even more complicated as we head into 2025.
Do Barcelona need to find a new stadium?
Despite their recent struggles in LaLiga, Barcelona have been in imperious form in the Champions League. They sit second in the 36-team ‘league phase’ table and look set to cruise through to the first knockout round proper, beginning on March 4. However this leaves the club with a dilemma, as their temporary Estadi Olímpic home in Montjuïc could be double booked for those crucial midweek dates.
Reports in Spain suggest that Barcelona may need to change venues for the latter stages of the competition due to other events already being scheduled at the Estadi Olímpic. Clubs have until February 21 to confirm where they will play the Round of 16 fixtures and are unable to change the venue for the remainder of this season’s competition. If the works at the Spotify Camp Nou aren’t completed in the next two months, the club will be forced to look for alternate venues, or find an agreement with events organisers who had booked Montjuïc. Not an easy feat.
As it stands Cornellà-El Prat, home of city neighbours Espanyol, appears to be the most viable alternative option. However Valencia’s Mestalla and even Atletico Madrid’s Riyadh Air Metropolitano have been cited as potential venues.
Even when they do finally return to the Spotify Camp Nou, Barcelona will do so with a capacity of approximately 64,000 fans, not the 105,000 supporters that will eventually fill the stands. One area of the stadium will still be under construction initially.
The ‘temporary’ move to Montjuïc has had real financial implications for Barcelona. Once back at Camp Nou, they expect to earn an additional €247 million from the vast Espai Barça complex. The revamped stadium will, one day, be a major boon for the club and will help to steady the financial ship going forward. For now, Barcelona fans are just waiting for that day to come.
MathiasMaxwellEmma
8
This trial times will be over someday