Reopening the Camp Nou is no longer worthwhile.

BarcelonaFor many months now, the technicians in charge of the remodeling of the Camp Nou They propose waiting until 2026 to reopen the stadium doors.They argue that the delays were inevitable and that if they could work without having to juggle tasks with matches, the work would be done better and faster. Until recently, the board of directors were adamantly refusing. The urgency of starting to operate the stadium financially had taken precedence over everything else, and they were even willing to reopen even if it was only with 27,000 people. But the will of Joan Laporta's board would end up clashing with Barcelona City Council and the Fire Department, who objected to the first occupancy license (LPO) citing safety reasons. Thus, despite urging the construction company Limak, the stadium couldn't be opened for the Gamper match, neither for September 14th, nor for the Champions League match against PSG.

The next match is the derby against Girona, but ultimately it won't be played at Camp Nou either. A new follow-up meeting was held this Tuesday between Barça and the City Council to discuss the issue. A week ago, everything seemed to be on track to obtain the LPO (Licensing Authority)—Albert Batlle, the third deputy mayor, almost took it for granted—but in recent hours, doubts have arisen. Finally, the club issued a statement admitting that it still doesn't have the authorization and, therefore, there was no choice but to extend the stay at Lluís Companys.

Is it worth reopening Camp Nou if you can't make more money from the box office?

But is it worth returning to Camp Nou now, if it's with limited capacity? "We're not sure it's worth it," board sources admitted to ARA, before Barça announced that the match with Girona would be at Montjuïc. It's well known that the initial objective was not to return, which is why they asked to play the first three matchdays away from home, in addition to requesting an exception from La Liga to use Johann Cruyff in two matches despite not meeting capacity standards. Ultimately, there was no other option.

At this point, it was necessary to break out the calculator. With the investment made in the Olympic stadium—where the area had to be re-purposed for football and the turf installed, expenses that Barça were to cover—the board has changed strategy and decided to wait. At Lluís Companys Stadium, more than 50,000 tickets could be sold, while at Barça's stadium, the initial capacity will be 27,000, including those in the grandstand and the south goal (Phase 1a). It won't be until later, ahead of the November matches, that permission will be obtained to use the side section (Phase 1b, with 45,000 seats). The club's argument is that the permits for Phase 1a have been delayed to the point that they will almost coincide with those for Phase 1b. Therefore, they will open the stadium when enough tickets can be sold to avoid losing money.

The idea, then, is to return to the stadium in November, although the leadership is debating whether it might be better to wait a little longer, until early 2026, when the north goal—phase 1c, where work is more delayed—could be available until the 60,000-seat capacity threshold is reached. "They've spoken, but we know the president isn't at all convinced," explains one of the architects consulted, who justifies the proposal by the fact that, without having to combine construction and football, the work would be much faster. In any case, official sources maintain that the objective hasn't changed and is to return to the pitch as soon as possible. They also add that UEFA is open to allowing the initial phase of the Champions League to be played in two stadiums, as an exception to the rule. "They haven't told us yes or no, but they are open to talking about it."

Regardless of whether the doors reopen before or after, the roadmap from now until summer is to complete the third tier (phase 2), where the precast concrete is already being placed, and for it to be operational by August 2026, for the start of the school year. Finally, the roof will be installed in the summer of 2027 and will be finished polishing during the 2027/28 school year.

Adapt the 1957 Camp Nou to current fire regulations.

Meanwhile, at Camp Nou, work continues at a frantic pace. The pitch and stands are now ready, but there is still work to be done. deficiencies in the accesses and in the bowels of the stadiumAccording to ARA, one of the issues that held up the reopening was adapting the stadium to current fire regulations, as the 1957 structure was built at a time when no fire regulations existed. Aside from the financial expense involved, there have been several delays in the delivery of materials, such as the fire doors. Other elements will not arrive until November, according to sources close to the builders, and which are essential requirements for obtaining the LPO. To circumvent this, those responsible for Espai Barça proposed to the city council a conditional license, in which the fire department would point out a series of minor deficiencies and Barça would assume responsibility for repairing them. For now, it is merely a proposal that generates skepticism both within the city council and the fire department.

Ultimately, adapting to current regulations has been a real pain for the club and has caused numerous clashes between the Espai Barça technicians and the Fire Department. "In the third tier, which is brand new, there is no problem of this type. But it has been difficult to make it understood that in the 1957 structure, some of the things that were requested could not be fulfilled," add the sources consulted, linked to the club, who also complain that bureaucracy has greatly slowed down the work. "The volume of plans and documentation is so high that in some cases we have needed a week to be able to deliver everything," they lament at Barça. Although, behind closed doors, the tone is the same. mea culpa due to changes in some points of the project, which in technical jargon is called fast track –construction on the fly–. "We've proposed better solutions, technically and sometimes also financially, but in return we've had to start from scratch with all the paperwork, and that has slowed down the work."

The city council's version, however, is different. From the outset, they admit that Camp Nou is a unique construction and that it wasn't easy to adapt the stadium to current regulations. But, from there, they insist that "the requirements are the same for everyone" and point out that, ultimately, they are directly responsible for the safety of the spectators. "We're really looking forward to Barça returning home, but we want it to do so with guarantees," Mayor Jaume Collboni summarized a few days ago.