Barça's hopes in case of a failed return to the Camp Nou

BarcelonaThe future of Camp Nou is on fire. Hundreds of workers from around the world are working these days on the countdown at Barça's stadium. Work shifts are running around the clock with the goal of partially reopening the stadium in mid-September, coinciding with the La Liga match against Valencia. This is the plan maintained in the offices of the club and Limak. from the disappointment associated with the Joan Gamper trophy, which ultimately had to be played at the Johan Cruyff Stadium due to construction delays.

After that harsh reality check, both the club and the construction company have decided to move forward with more cautious than ambitious steps. Now they are working to reopen the Camp Nou with a maximum of 27,000 fans, when the initial idea was to do so with more than 60,000. Now it will be a success to open the stands first – with the famous seats VIP– and the south goal, and then the side and the north goal, when the plan was to open everything at once. But even that more realistic plan doesn't fit the schedule, which has had to be redesigned on the fly.

According to the calculations of Barça and Limak to which ARA has had access, For this first phase of reopening (1A), the idea was to submit the Certificate of Completion of Works (COC) on August 11 so that the first occupancy permit could be obtained from Barcelona City Council the first week of September, with enough time to prepare for the reopening for the Valencia match with 27,000 fans and – very importantly – to notify the Champions League phase.

However, more than a week has passed since this date highlighted on the calendar and the certificate of completion of works has still not been issued, an essential step for the authorities to later certify that the venue is safe to host thousands of people. According to RAC1, both the club and the various construction and engineering companies involved in the renovation of the Camp Nou have detected "precarious areas" in the stands and the south goal, which requires a renegotiation of the timing with the City Council to submit the COC and still have time to aim for reopening in mid-September. "We don't have a deadline as such, but we need the CFO as soon as possible to process the initial occupancy license," they admit with some nervousness from the offices of Aristides Maillol.

From the Rolling Stones to Post Malone

Returning to Camp Nou in mid-September is not only a priority for the club's finances and to avoid further prolonging the exile of the club's fans, but also because, in the specific case of Barça-Valencia, the Montjuïc alternative is far from clear. At BSM, the company that manages the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium, At the end of July, it was assumed that the Barcelona club would not rent it again for this season. "We've lost a good client," the municipal company joked. Now, however, given the new delays in the Camp Nou construction work, BSM is expressing concern about the Post Malone concert dismantling coinciding—Friday, September 12—with a hypothetical La Liga match against Valencia, which would be on Sunday the 14th at 9 p.m. at the latest.

Since Johan Cruyff doesn't meet the minimum capacity required in the First Division and has a fairly tight schedule with the reserve and women's teams, Barça is considering Montjuïc in case the long-awaited return to Camp Nou has to be postponed again. In principle, the alternative would be valid for the entire third quarter of 2025 in both La Liga and the Champions League... with the asterisk of the match against Valencia. But with this specific event, there is also a possible solution on the fly: that Post Malone's ticket sales may not increase and the concert may have to be moved to the smaller Palau Sant Jordi, also managed by BSM. ARA has consulted the municipal company, which reports that this possibility is in the hands of the promoter. This newspaper has also contacted Live Nation but has received no response.

If the American rapper finally changes venues, Barça could claim a small victory. Similar, although on a smaller scale, to the one associated with the cancellation of the Rolling Stones' tour kickoff in Barcelona last spring, thanks to which the Barça first team was able to play the entire finale of the season at Lluís Companys stadium. Be that as it may, and despite the recent delays, the club's goal remains to reopen the Camp Nou with a maximum of 27,000 people in mid-September and, as the fall progresses, move to a second phase with 45,000 seats and a third with 62,000. In fact, in parallel with the back-and-forth to extend the CFO, some La Liga emissaries carried out an inspection of the seats at the new Camp Nou this Tuesday, as planned from the outset. Green shoots that combine with slides to return home.