Barcelona will make their long-awaited return to Spotify Camp Nou this weekend after confirming Saturday’s LaLiga game against Athletic Club will be played at the stadium.
Renovation work continues on the arena, but Barça received Monday a license from the local council which allows them to stage matches with a capped capacity of 45,401.
Camp Nou has been closed for refurbishment since 2023 — Barça have been playing home matches at the Olympic Stadium in the city in the meantime — and the original plan was for the team to return by the end of 2024.
However, following a string of missed dates, the Spanish champions now finally have permission to host matches in front of a significant crowd in their iconic stadium once again.
Barça first received a permit to re-open the stadium in October, but the limit placed on the capacity at that time was 25,991, which the club did not feel was high enough to justify an immediate return financially.
They subsequently held a test event at Camp Nou earlier in November, with just under 23,000 fans attending an open training session which president Joan Laporta classified as a success.
Barça filed the documentation last week requesting the permit to extend the capacity and finally received the good news on Monday.
Saturday’s visit from Athletic marks the start of a busy period for the Catalan club, with a visit to Chelsea in the Champions League then followed by back-to-back home matches against Alavés and Atlético Madrid, which can now be played at Camp Nou.
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It still remains unclear, though, if the Champions League game against Frankfurt will be at Camp Nou or the Olympic Stadium on Dec. 9.
UEFA rules are slightly different to LaLiga’s when it comes to changing stadia mid-season, but Laporta has expressed confidence it will be possible, saying there are plans in place to meet all the governing body’s requirements, including covered areas for the directors’ box.
As it stands, the stadium has the bottom two tiers complete, but work is ongoing on the third tier and the roof still needs to be added.
Work is expected to be completely finished by 2027, at which point the capacity will have increased to 105,000.
