FC Barcelona might not return to its Camp Nou stadium until well into next season according to a report from Catalan outlet Beteve, which cited anonymous sources.
Barca closed the gates to its iconic home in the spring of 2023, not long after winning its last La Liga title under since-replaced head coach Xavi Hernandez.
This was done in order for renovation work to be carried out, with a November 2024 date to coincide with the club’s 125th anniversary touted as a possible reopening date for 60,000 punters to enjoy matches in the ground which will one day be able to take in an attendance of 105,000.
It soon became clear that this possibility didn’t have legs, though, and other possible targets such as February and now May have been put on the backburner.
A Mundo Deportivo report explained how an El Clasico meeting with Real Madrid and possible Champions League semifinal could be played at Camp Nou this term, but SPORT journalist David Bernabeu has since said that no games will be played there in 2024/2025.
Bernabeu added that Barca being able to start 2025/2026 in the part-finished stadium was also at risk, and Beteve confirms this with its own fresh information.
Through anonymous sources, the Catalan outlet has learned that “some service providers at the Camp Nou have already been notified that their usual activity at the stadium will not start until November 2025”.
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This is of course a period which could coincide with the club’s 126th anniversary and would have great significance for many Culers.
Yet the news will come as no comfort to most who are tired of the logistics involved in reaching the top of Montjuic hill and attending matches at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys it has been using since the start of 2023/2024.
Furthermore, there are concerns about the lack of atmosphere there is at present in Montjuic, which is suffering from the closure of the Grada d’Animació.
That’s literally translated as the “Animation Stand”, but is perhaps better explained as a section of the terrace behind the Gol Nord which started chants that carried through the rest of the stadium for the duration of games.