The tourists that visit the Camp Nou will have a joy in November

BarcelonaThe Barça museum was key to securing funding from Goldman Sachs for the remodeling of the Camp Nou. The 'blaugrana' club had anticipated that the work would serve to multiply the revenue of a facility that in 2019 received 1.7 million visitors and was by far the most frequented in Catalonia. But the financial firm was not entirely convinced. It did not understand how it could go from 40 million in annual turnover to the 80 projected. Many reports and market studies were needed to convince the American bankers that the projections were realistic.

Since then, many things have happened. The pandemic forced the shutters to close for many months, and the subsequent recovery was slow. The stadium remodeling works, which began in 2023, meant permanently closing the old museum, located in the grandstand area of the old Camp Nou, and giving up a sum of millions essential for the club's coffers. That is why the idea of building a temporary museum at the former ice rink was a blessing. Even if only 20 million were invoiced that first year, they helped cushion the blow while the coliseum was being renovated and work was underway for the construction of a new facility, more modern and designed with a digital mindset.

At Barça, they are already counting down to the inauguration of this museum, which, besides offering a journey through the history, jerseys, and trophies of the azulgrana team, also provides an immersive experience for the spectator and is complemented by visits inside the stadium. Just as the reopening of the Camp Nou was long-awaited, this museum, christened over a decade ago as Barça Experience and currently called Barça Immersive Tour, has also faced several delays. But at the offices, they believe that in November they will be able to cut the ribbon. The final decision is in the hands of the technicians.

In 2025, despite still being a temporary museum, the visitor numbers were very good, as it exceeded one million visitors. With 1,059,611 people, it surpassed the Picasso Museum (1,021,500) and became the most visited in Catalonia. "It's going like a shot," they point out from the Barça offices, where they confess that this temporary facility has had much more acceptance than they expected. With the reopening of the Camp Nou, it was possible to take advantage of match days to make some visits to the stands and contribute to increasing revenue, reaching 40 million, almost the same (43) as achieved in the 22/23 season, according to the Barça financial report.

That is why the rush to open the new museum is relative. In the short term, there will be a growth in visitors and revenue, but the big boom is not expected until the roof has been installed and the third tier is available. It will be then that the experience will be complete and various types of tours will be offered, including a technological one, which will guide the curious through the interior corners of the Camp Nou, explaining what the control rooms, connectivity, and the operation of the scoreboards and lighting are like. "There are people for everything," they say in the offices with a smile, making it clear that they will not miss any opportunity to make money.

Barça must obtain the museum's certificate of completion of works on Friday

If the forecasts are met, this Friday Limak will deliver the museum's certificate of completion of works to the club. But the reopening cannot be immediate, because 15 days are needed to move all the material from one museum to the other. That is two weeks without being able to admit visitors. More than a million euros in cash. October is considered high season, and also the month of December, which is why November should be an ideal time to make the change.

The design of this new museum, which will grow to have 2,800 square meters, has been entrusted to Mediapro Exhibitions, which is dedicated to museographic and exhibition operations. Once opened, the forecast is to recover visits to the interior of the stadium, which until now could only be done on match days due to a security issue with the access points. From Espai Barça, they guarantee that at least one will be available, which will go through the stands, the presidential box, and the locker rooms. In this way, they will respond to one of the demands most frequently made by tourists who, beyond the trophies, felt very attracted to walking through the bowels of the Camp Nou.

The museum's employees believe that in a short time the capacity can be doubled and reach a figure close to 2 million annual visitors. In the long term, when the works are finished and the skywalk has been installedon the roof, the forecast is to receive 2.5 million people per season and hover around 100 million in turnover, a figure even higher than the projections. But to get there, we will need to have patience.