Barcelona will play the 2023-24 season away from Camp Nou while Europe’s largest football stadium undergoes a massive overhaul, the Spanish club said Thursday.
The club said Barcelona will play its games at the municipally owned Lluís Companys Stadium. The stadium, which has a capacity of about 60,000 spectators, hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1992 Olympics.
The club said its long-delayed project to remodel and modernise Camp Nou, which currently seats 99,000 spectators, will begin this year after it received the final go-ahead from the city.
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Games will continue to be played at Camp Nou next season. After playing the following campaign away from Camp Nou, the club wants games to return for the 2024-25 season, albeit with attendance reduced to 50% because of construction work. The club plans to finish the stadium work during the 2025-26 season.
The club wants to increase Camp Nou's capacity to 110,000 while also refurbishing its surrounding area, which includes a pavilion for the club’s other sports, the museum and stores. It has budgeted 1.5 billion euros ($1.57 billion) for the project.
Barcelona’s crosstown rival, Espanyol, played at the Lluís Companys Stadium from 1997-2009. The stadium, whose field is ringed by an athletics track, sits atop a small hill that offers views of the Mediterranean city.
Barcelona had considered using its much smaller Johan Cruyff Stadium, which is located outside the city, as an alternative site.
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