Spanish champions Barcelona said on Tuesday it now plans to return to the renovated Camp Nou home only if it is allowed to have a temporary capacity of 45,000 supporters.
The decision comes less than a week after Barca once again delayed its expected return to its iconic home stadium – which was initially scheduled for November 2024 before being pushed back several times.
The Catalan giant previously hoped to reopen its stadium once it secured a license to host matches in front of 27,000 fans – something it had hoped to secure last month.
The decision to wait until the temporary capacity is increased to 45,000 is almost certain to cause further delays to reopening one of Europe’s major stadiums after a redevelopment that has suffered several setbacks.
The club will pay an estimated 1.5 billion euros ($1.75 billion) for the Camp Nou Rebuild, which is hit by reconstruction chaos.
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«Although it is expected to receive the first occupancy permit for Phase 1A shortly… Barcelona will work with the aim of returning to Spotify Camp Nou once the license for Phase 1b has been obtained, which will expand the capacity to 45,000 spectators,» the club said in a statement without giving any indication of when that would be.
Barcelona were humiliatingly forced to play two matches at its 6,000-capacity Johan Cruyff Training Ground Stadium in the opening weeks of the season after failing to obtain the permit needed for Camp Nou.
The city council said in September that it would not allow Barcelona to return to the stadium, which will have a capacity of 105,000 when completed, due to safety concerns.
Barcelona confirmed on Tuesday that it will host its next La Liga match against Girona on October 18 at the Olympic Stadium on the city’s Montjuic Hill.
The club played there for the last two seasons, while Camp Nou was closed and had to return there at the end of September after the two matches at the Tiny Johan Cruyff location.
Barca had already announced that the next Champions League match against Olympiakos will also take place there on October 21. The next home games after that are against Elche on November 2 and Athletic Bilbao on November 23.
Published on October 7, 2025
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