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Barça receives permission to reopen Camp Nou, but will not yet return to the stadium
Spotify Camp Nou can now reopen its doors. Barcelona City Council has granted Futbol Club Barcelona the long-awaited first-occupancy licence, the permit authorising the partial reopening of the stadium after months of refurbishment and technical adjustments. However, the team will not yet play there again.
The authorisation permits occupancy only of the main stand and the south end, with a maximum capacity of 27,000 people. The club considers that this figure does not justify leaving the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, where profitability and current capacity are maintained. Barça will therefore wait for the second phase of the permit, scheduled for November, which will raise capacity to 45,000 spectators, a balance point between revenue and atmosphere.
The permit arrives two months later than expected, frustrating the wish to inaugurate the stadium in August, coinciding with the Trofeo Joan Gamper or the start of the season. The club is now looking to the weekend of 22–23 November, when the dream return could be sealed with a match against Athletic Club, if the new licence and UEFA allow it.
Meanwhile, works continue: only the first and second tiers are complete, and the structure of the third is already rising above Les Corts. At least two years of work remain to complete the roof and restore the stadium to its grandeur.
Camp Nou is still under construction, but Barça's heart beats again.