Barça postpones its plans to reopen Camp Nou until October.

BarcelonaAfter several postponements, Barça announced that their return to the renovated Camp Nou would be for the Joan Gamper Trophy on August 10, against Cesc Fàbregas' Como. A few days later, however, The club announced that it would not be possible in the end. because the necessary permits were not obtained. Now, construction continues against the clock, always with the goal of being able to partially open the stadium for the first home league match, against Valencia, in mid-September.

However, according to the club and Limak's plans, the inauguration will not go as planned, with an approximate capacity of just over 60,000 spectators. As ARA has been able to verify, both parties estimate that the entire first and second tiers will be completed by the end of September and that it will take another two to three weeks to receive the initial occupancy permit from Barcelona City Council. Both Barça and the construction company are clear today that Aristides Maillol's stadium will not be available with the desired capacity for reopening—the aforementioned 60,000 seats—until well into October.

As this newspaper has already reported, The pace of construction continues to progress at varying speeds. For this reason, when it still seemed plausible to play the Gamper match in the stadium, priority was given to bringing forward the grandstand section. In fact, it's the section closest to completion, along with the South Goal, where the new fan stand will be located. The club and Limak hope both areas will be completed in ten days, on August 11. These two stands alone would provide access to almost 30,000 fans.

The next step will be to obtain the initial occupancy permit. Depending on the construction project, it could take a few months to arrive. But according to the experts consulted, since this is a "special case," if all the documentation is in order, Barça could have it in a matter of hours or days. Their projections, which have been forced to be modified throughout the construction, expect to have the two aforementioned stands ready by September, as well as the side stands, which would increase the capacity to around 45,000 spectators. The North Goal is the area that's furthest behind. It is the one that would eventually allow the entry of around 62,000 fans.

A Post Malone concert complicates life at Barça.

UEFA is expected to revisit the Camp Nou construction project this August to analyze its progress. The first time the European body's emissaries did so was in June. Experts from La Liga are also expected to visit. For the debut in the Spanish league, as planned by Limak and Barça, a maximum of 42,000 seats are expected. The alternative is to return to playing home matches at the Estadi Olímpic. However, for the match against Valencia, which is expected to be on September 13 or 14, it should be noted that a concert by American artist Post Malone is scheduled for the 12th. Officially, Lluís Companys' schedule does not include any further musical performances until May.

After the start of La Liga at home, Barça will have a key moment ahead: its debut in the Champions League. UEFA does not allow the same phase to be played in two different stadiums. Thus, failing to complete the Camp Nou on time would mean moving football to the Olympic Stadium. A few months ago, the club stated that it wasn't considering having both Montjuïc and Camp Nou operational at the same time, which is why the European debut is seen as a key date for determining where Barça will play its home games for the first part of the season.

Two weeks ago, workers began removing the turf initially planted at Camp Nou, and the final turf has recently been installed. Barça's La Liga debut is expected to be on this surface in mid-September. According to the latest forecasts, if construction and bureaucracy allow, it would be in front of 45,000 spectators. The remaining 15,000 until the desired number will have to wait a little longer, until October. However, given past experience, it also cannot be ruled out that the work could be extended and the schedule would have to be revised again.