Barça sends the Montjuïc pitch to the nursery

BarcelonaThe competition at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys is over, but daily activity is frenetic. Even more so than when Barça was playing. Workers are transforming a space used for football matches into a concert venue. It's been three weeks of full capacity. It's common knowledge that before entering, you have to let everyone out. Therefore, all the equipment belonging to the Blaugrana club must be moved. Barça has given the order to remove everything because does not plan "under any circumstances" to return to Montjuïc next season. The things that can be used, heading towards Camp Nou. small such as the benches, the goals, or the entrance shifts, and larger things like the macro generator that guarantees the power supply in case of a power outage. On the other hand, the tarps, carpets, some decorative pieces, or those objects that have been damaged by wear and tear are part of what is sent to the container. The turf was also on the list. It is known that a club like Barça changes it annually. But a few days ago, the workers at Barcelona Municipal Services (BSM) – the company that manages the equipment of the Olympic ring – received a call from Joan Sentelles, the club's head of operations, to say that they had thought about it and wanted to keep it. And so it was.

"We took it to the nursery", clarify Barça sources. With this anglicism, which means nursery, refers to the process of carefully extracting the turf to return it to the nursery. This was handled by Garden Tona, the company that also installed the pitch in the two seasons the Blaugrana played at Montjuïc. It also installed the irrigation system, which was the result of conflicts in the first months of Barça's stay at Lluís Companys – the beginning of the 2023-24 season – because the club, the gardening company, and BSM couldn't agree on the mix of chemical components that had to be added to the water to irrigate the water.

"We saw that the turf was in good condition. It's not suitable for us at Camp Nou or the Ciutat Esportiva. But we can give it a second use. It hasn't been decided yet, neither which nor where, although we don't rule out marketing it," says Barça. One option is for the pitch, which is a hybrid format—combining natural grass with synthetic fabric to prevent it from rising during matches—to be sold to other clubs. Barça insists that the decision has not yet been made. In any case, it would be a way to extract some economic return, however small, from a turf that was destined for the landfill.

The Camp Nou expects the final turf by the end of July.

Meanwhile, construction work on the Camp Nou is progressing, and Limak is working hard to have the first phase—the first and second stands—completed by the end of July. Reopening permits must be applied for and, therefore, the maximum capacity authorized by the Fire Department and Barcelona City Council must be determined, bearing in mind that access will be temporary. Among the work to be done is the replacement of the turf: a temporary one has been in place since the end of April, which, among other things, encouraged everyone and boosted morale ahead of a return that the club assures is imminent.

Barça, on the recommendation of the landscaping companies, installed a standard pitch to serve as a guinea pig. As the project was completely new, it served to check that the irrigation and drainage systems were working perfectly. And, later, the replacement with the final turf should be carried out. According to Barça sources, this should be done in the last week of July.