The umpteenth change of plans with the reopening of the Camp Nou
Barça is two weeks late with the delivery of the CFO for the first phase.
Barcelona"Due to UEFA regulations, which prevent changing stadiums during the initial phase of the Champions League, and the logistical difficulties and additional costs of maintaining two facilities [...] operational at the same time, the club has decided to continue playing at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys until the end of the initial phase of the Champions League." The extract corresponds to the official statement that Barça issued on November 20, 2024, a week and a bit before the first frustrated date of return to the new Camp Nou, the 125th anniversary of the club. The phrase appears at the beginning of a statement in which no mention was made of the true reason for the extension of the season pass for members at Montjuïc: the obvious delay in the construction of the Barcelona stadium. Months later, partly also thanks to the Rolling Stones And now, without any reason or regulation to hide the reality, a second entire campaign in exile would be confirmed.
At the gates of the third season with the Camp Nou bogged down, and after having to cancel the scheduled reopening for the Joan Gamper trophy, Barça has accepted that the only possible option is to return in phases. Three, specifically, since the works progress at different rates. According to the stadium sector, efforts are currently focused on the first, which provides for the entry of 27,000 people in the first two tiers of the main stand and the south goal. According to the latest planned schedule, the certificate of completion (CFO) for these areas should have been delivered seventeen days ago, but as of Tuesday, the paperwork had not yet been fully signed. Therefore, Barcelona City Council, the institution responsible for validating the reopening with the first occupancy permit, cannot move forward in this direction no matter how much progress is made. The last one, by the way, was yesterday, Tuesday. There are still things to resolve before the council can extend the license.
As time is running out and the La Liga schedule assigns a Barça-Valencia match on September 13 or 14, the club is forced to present alternatives, knowing that Montjuïc is not available for that date because it is hosting a Post Malone concert. Official Barça sources insist they haven't ruled out the Camp Nou, but at the same time acknowledge that the margin is very narrow. They also state that Montilivi is not an option at this time, so the solutions come down to opening the Johan Cruyff Stadium, which currently does not meet the minimum capacity requirements, or even playing the match behind closed doors at the Camp Nou. A VAR system would need to be installed at both venues, approved by the RFEF.
Espai Barça: Limak doesn't work miracles
In La Liga, the current uncertainty is only complicated in the short term by the specific unavailability of Montjuïc stadium in mid-September. The club's management would then agree to move Barça's home matches to a minimally-crowded Camp Nou. However, as the club pointed out in its official statement last November, UEFA is less flexible and requires the same venue for each round of the Champions League. However, the European body allows teams to announce more than one stadium during the draw for the top competition, which takes place this Thursday. Barça's plan is to list Camp Nou as the first option and Montjuïc as the alternative, hoping that the Aristides Maillol Coliseum can host the continental matchday two of the La Liga season with the side stands open and a capacity of 45,000. This condition, linked to obtaining permits for the second phase of reopening, is also key for UEFA to allow the use of Camp Nou.
However, as there is already a two-week delay in the first phase, the club assumes that the green light for the second, which would allow the stadium to reopen in Europe, is unlikely to arrive in time for early October. Another thing would be for UEFA, which has agreed to allow Barça to start the Champions League away from Barcelona, to make a major exception and allow them to wait for the Camp Nou and play the first matches of the league phase at Montjuïc. Be that as it may, however, the most coherent scenario circulating in the Barça offices is that the Estadi Olímpic, which since the Post Malone concert is now free until May, could be used again as necessary, with particular interest in the Champions League, where stadium regulations are more restrictive than in La Liga. BSM would not put up any obstacles. Therefore, and returning to the statement at the beginning of this article, the argument about the logistical and operational difficulty of combining two venues in the middle of a competition will no longer be valid to camouflage the fact that Limak doesn't perform miracles and is running behind schedule.
