LALIGA
Why are Barcelona playing at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys? When will Spotify Camp Nou reopen?
Barça take on Athletic Club in their first home game of the 2024/25 season, with Hansi Flick making his debut on the Montjuïc bench.
Barcelona play their first home fixture of the 2024/25 LaLiga season against Athletic Club on Saturday, although new coach Hansi Flick will not make his home debut in the dugout in Catalans’ famous Spotify Camp Nou stadium.
Instead the game will take place at Barca’s temporary digs, Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in the Montjuic area of the city. The venue was first used for the 1992 Olympic Games, hosted in Barcelona, and has fulfilled many roles in the city in the subsequent three decades.
Having spent the entirety of the 2023/24 campaign in Montjuic, Barça are expected to make their return to Spotify Camp Nou in December 2024, although its capacity will initially be limited to 60% (approximately 60,000). The club have earmarked the start of the 2026/27 as when all renovation work will have completed. They will gradually open up different parts of the ground before then.
The club had been toying with a stadium overhaul for a number of years with the new Camp Nou forming part of the Espai Barça that will see a major transformation in the Les Corts stadium and Estadi Johan Cruyff which will look to generate revenue for the club 365 days of the year. FC Barcelona’s financial issues have been well documented and this development, the club hopes, will help to bolster revenue and make one of the world’s most illustrious sporting institutions even more successful. Commercially, at least.
What will the new Spotify Camp Nou capacity be?
The historic Camp Nou stadium redevelopment forms part of the $1.5 billion renovation project and when completed, will see an increase in the capacity of the stadium from 99,354 seats to 105,000.
The new Spotify Camp Nou stadium has been designed by Japanese company Nikken Sekkei, who defeated 8 other finalist candidates to win the $420 million bid to renovate Barcelona’s iconic Camp Nou stadium from 1957. Nikken Sekkei are working in collaboration with local architects Pascual i Ausió Arquitectes.