After a long two years spent displaced from their regular home, Barcelona fans have been eagerly awaiting a return to the Camp Nou.
First opened in 1957, the Camp Nou is one of the most iconic venues in world football. However, its state of disrepair reached a breaking point, and the club decided to pour enormous funds into transforming the ground into one of the most advanced venues around the globe.
The renovations have put a massive strain on the club’s finances, so completing the project has been of the highest priority so they can get back to regular business and leverage the shiny new ground into future revenue.
With extensive renovations ongoing at the club’s primary home ground, the La Liga giants played their 2023/24 and 2024/25 home matches at the nearby Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium. While the temporary venue is still a top-tier stadium, its multi-purpose function makes it slightly awkward for a world-class football match, and thus the club was looking forward to its impending Camp Nou return.
Unfortunately, those plans have been altered as the club remains anxious about the start of the 2025/26 season, no longer housed at the Olympic Stadium.
The Sporting News explains when Barcelona fans will be able to return to the Camp Nou, in what capacity, and how those plans may be in jeopardy after the latest development.
When do Barcelona return to the newly renovated Camp Nou?
Barcelona were meant to make their return to the Camp Nou on Saturday, August 10 for a friendly match against Italian club Como, coached by former Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas.
The annual Joan Gamper Trophy game was supposed to mark the first stage of the stadium’s re-opening, but that has not been possible.
To help give Barcelona some extra time, La Liga crafted the club’s 2025/26 fixture list with an elongated road trip to begin the campaign, playing their first three matches away from home. Thus, it would appear for now that the Camp Nou is scheduled to first re-open its doors to fans on September 14 with a league match against Valencia, the fourth game of the new league season.
However, if the delays continue, it could affect the club’s regular season schedule. No longer contracted to play at the Olympic Stadium, the August 10 friendly against Como has been moved to their training ground stadium, Johan Cruyff Arena. This venue has a strong capacity of 55,800, but any regular-season matches forced to be played here would mark a substantial setback that would cost the club dearly on a financial level.
When the club does eventually return to the Camp Nou for matches, it will only be at partial capacity, as the stadium is not expected to be ready for a full matchday load until July 2026. Instead, 62,000 fans will be able to attend games from the re-opening, with further individual stands gradually opened throughout the 2025/26 season as able.
Why was the Joan Gamper Trophy match moved?
In mid-July, it was announced that the expected partial re-opening of the Camp Nou for the August 10 Joan Gamper Trophy match against Como would not be held at the iconic ground, instead moved to Johan Cruyff Arena, the club’s training ground stadium where the youth and women’s teams regularly play.
The club released a statement on July 18 indicating that they have not been able to complete the work necessary to acquire a Barcelona city license for reopening.
“Due to the scale of the work carried out, it has not been possible to meet all the conditions laid out by the regulations governing this licence, despite the club’s intention to reopen the redeveloped stadium sector by sector,” the statement read.
“The club is liaising closely with Barcelona City Council and the relevant authorities to make progress on the different requirements and will inform its members and fans of any new developments regarding the return date.”
Recent images of the Camp Nou show that construction on the new roof has not yet begun in earnest, while the stadium’s third tier is also not ready for opening, according to The Athletic.
Camp Nou renovation overview
Originally, the renovation to the Camp Nou was meant to cost €600 million and was scheduled for completion in 2021, but that plan was scrapped after the club’s disastrous financial situation and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Eventually, the project was revived by president Joan Laporta, backed by a huge loan from Goldman Sachs amounting to the tune of €1.5 billion.
With construction resuming in the summer of 2022, displacing the team temporarily, the construction presented huge challenges that soared costs above expectations. Yet the project has neared completion, ushering the stadium into the modern age.
So what has been improved in the new Camp Nou?
Key aspects of the Camp Nou renovation
- Installation of a full roof with a widespread solar array
- Increased capacity to 105,000 via expansion of the upper terrace
- 360-degree LED screen suspended from roof
- Expanded dressing rooms with state-of-the-art sports science technology
- New pitch with hybrid grass technology and irrigation system via rainwater collection
- Extensive LED screen display on the venue exterior
- Nosebleed sections in third tier redesign
- Premium seating increase from 3,000 to 25,000
- Technological upgrades including improved WiFi
- Improved acoustic design to intensify matchday experience
- Improved camera positioning and stadium lighting for greater broadcast experience
