The 20,000 Culés who will pay for the party at the new Camp Nou

BarcelonaAlthough Barça had already expected it, receiving the first occupancy license (LPO) for Camp Nou was a cause for joy and celebration in the offices. "The first is always the most complicated," admitted sources close to the board. With Phase 1 confirmed, the south stand and goal area could open, equivalent to a capacity of 27,000 fans. However, as the club explained a few days ago, They prefer to wait until phase 1b is completed. to also be able to open the side and thus increase its capacity to 45,000 seats. For now, the offices say the work is already underway and that some of the documentation has been submitted. However, the bureaucracy is slow. Therefore, the matches against Girona, Olympiakos, and Elche will be held at Montjuïc. Later, we'll see.

The dispute between Barça and the City Council over the LPO has dragged on much longer than either side wanted. The City Council excused itself by citing discrepancies in the documentation and that the fire brigade continued to find safety deficiencies. The club, on the other hand, maintained that the stadium was ready to be played and that the delays were due to bureaucracy they considered excessive. Be that as it may, this is now a thing of the past: the Camp Nou couldn't reopen in September. At this point, Barça has been forced to change its commercial strategy. Goldman Sachs is knocking on the door to recover the investment made in the stadium loan. So they have to make as much money as possible, and, the club believes, there's no choice but to appeal to tourists with deep pockets to make up for what they lose while the Camp Nou is not fully operational.

Members have complained to the OAB about the season ticket prices.

The club admits that it is an unpopular decision and acknowledges that the Barcelona Supporter Support Office (OAB) has been flooded with calls with complaints. Last week, Barça put season tickets on sale, which were significantly more expensive than last year's season tickets at Montjuïc—an increase of up to 34%, depending on the area—with the caveat that five matches are excluded. Therefore, the increase is even higher.

A year ago, when Barça put season tickets for the second half of the season on sale, claiming that the game would be played at Camp Nou—a false promise, and therefore, the fees were never collected—there were 45,000 available. But back then There was talk of a reopening with 62,000 spectatorsThis time, it's already known that the return will be with 45,000 seats, and there's no guarantee that the 62,000—the equivalent of Phase 1c—can be reached in the short term. Therefore, the season ticket cap was drastically cut to 24,800, with priority given to those who had supported the team at Montjuïc. This means that the remaining season ticket holders on leave will be given priority.

This means around 20,000 tickets are on sale. The club offers discounts to members who don't have a season ticket, but that doesn't prevent tickets from being expensive. For the match against Elche, members pay between €69 (per goal) and €209 (in the stands), according to figures found on the club's website. Non-members, on the other hand, pay between 129 and 289 euros. Barça assures that there are always members who buy tickets, but admits that a very high percentage are tourists, who are willing to spend very high amounts to get the best seats. They are also the ones who buy some VIP products, which entitle them to canapés, and which, in that same match against Elche, are on sale for prices ranging from 500 to 1,000 euros.

The opposition is attacking Joan Laporta's board of directors.

In a week marked by the assembly and on the eve of the 2026 summer elections, the opposition has used the controversy over season tickets to attack Joan Laporta's board of directors. They accuse them of prioritizing money over the ball and say—invoking the match against PSG and pointing out that the fans' stands are not available—that the atmosphere has suffered. The club remains calm, responding by pointing out that this decision is a one-off and justifying, with figures in hand, that the majority of those attending the Montjuïc matches are locals: 70% are season ticket holders, members, or Catalans, and 30% are foreigners. Now, in the area of ticketing They add that this 30% spend 45% more on average, either because they get better seats or because they take advantage of the opportunity to buy Barça shirts and all kinds of Barça merchandise.

However, Barça knows that the popular debate is lost and therefore focuses on the economic benefits. Staying in Montjuïc means losing around 100 million euros per season, taking into account what was earned from the stadium before the Camp Nou renovation, among other reasons because 80% of season ticket holders took a leave of absence. In the first year, in 2023/24, revenue went from 229 million to 126 million. Last season, the sales policy changed and the figure recovered. The team's good sporting direction also helped. Revenues were projected at 154 million, but they ended up at 175 million. This year, the forecast is to increase to 225 million. This is a very ambitious figure, but the club is confident it can be achieved when the stadium is finally reopened, given the appeal it will generate. Of course, it will be the foreigners who will pay for the party.