How much will it cost Barcelona to redevelop Camp Nou?

Barcelona have hit the headlines in recent times for activating economic ‘levers’ which have rescued the club from crippling debt and allowed them to do business in the transfer market. The sale of a percentage of BLM, a company that manages their merchandise, for instance, went some way to enabling them to bring Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha to the club last summer.

And the club’s spending shows no sign of slowing down off the field either, with plans having now been put in place for the much-talked-about redevelopment Camp Nou…sorry, Spotify Camp Nou. And - surprise, surprise - it’s not going to come cheap.

How much could Barcelona have to spend on redeveloping Camp Nou?

Turkish construction company Limak Construction will undertake the redevelopment of the stadium and have been instructed by club president Joan Laporta to work within a budget of €900 million. Not that we should always compare the two clubs, but given that Real Madrid have spent €800 million on remodelling Estadio Santiago Bernabéu after planning to spend €500 million, perhaps we can expect that figure to be a little higher.

Construction will begin once the current LaLiga season comes to an end in June, with Barça having agreed a deal with the city council to play at Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Montjuic for the duration of the 2023-24 campaign. The redevelopment of Camp Nou is expected to be fully completed by June 2026, although Barça want to be able to return to play at their home ground in time for their 125th anniversary on 29 November 2024.

Elena Fort: We wanted the stadium to be redeveloped as quickly as economically as possible

In a press conference on Monday, Barcelona institutional vice-president and spokesperson Elena Fort highlighted two key points (not difficult to guess which ones) that were taken into consideration before plans were put in place.

“We wanted the stadium to be redeveloped as quickly and economically as possible. The construction company had to guarantee they would be able to meet our deadline, which was for the stadium to be ready by June 2026. The second condition was that it had to be affordable.”

“Limak is a world-renowned company, one of the biggest in the construction industry, especially when it comes to civil engineering. The stadium is a piece of engineering, you don’t necessarily need to have experience of working on stadiums. Limak built the airport in Istanbul, which is the best in the world.”