Why has the reopening of the north goal at Camp Nou been stalled?

BarcelonaJuly was an intense month. The numerous meetings between Barça and the City Council regarding the reopening of Camp Nou culminated in an agreement that suggested a return to the stadium in September. By dividing the first phase of the construction into three stages (1A, 1B, and 1C), a window of opportunity opened for football to return to the Les Corts neighborhood, albeit with fewer spectators than anticipated. However, in reality, delays and misunderstandings have been constant. And while matches have been played since November, March will begin without the stadium being able to fill all the available seats.

"This is a matter of safety and permits, and the technicians don't consider the issue resolved. We are inflexible here. The relationship with Barça is good, but safety comes first, whether it's with Barça or a hair salon," said Jaume Collboni this week. The words of the mayor of Barcelona were not well received by the club, which depends exclusively on the city council to use the 14,000 seats in the north stand, corresponding to license 1C. To make matters worse, the club is in the midst of an election process that has left it in a weak negotiating position. Although the interim board led by Rafael Yuste is operating normally, the absence of Joan Laporta – former president – ​​and Elena Fort – former vice president in charge of Espai Barça – has weakened Barça's institutional standing. The responsibility falls on the executives, but the team headed by Joan Sentelles is anxiously awaiting approval that is being delayed and has yet to arrive.

"We submitted all the documentation some time ago. It's not in our hands," the club explains. At City Hall, official sources are deflecting the issue and simply stating that, for the moment, there are no further developments regarding Camp Nou, without providing any further details. The only thing that has come to light, as reported by... Barça Reserved According to Catalunya Ràdio, the Fire Department and Civil Protection were seeing crowds forming at the exit and recommended caution and additional measures, such as having more doors open.

Thus, Barça has had no choice but to rule out reopening the north stand – which was initially supposed to have been achieved against Oviedo at the end of January, as Laporta himself admitted at the end of 2025 – for the upcoming matches against Villarreal and Atlético de Madrid, where maintaining their league lead in Madrid is at stake. Now, the next challenge is to secure these 14,000 additional seats for the Barça-Sevilla match on March 15, election day. "It would be a good publicity stunt," admit sources from Laporta's team, who are seeking re-election.

The promise of the 14,000 season tickets, at risk

Precisely the week the elections were officially called, the club issued a statement announcing that it would "allocate 100% of the planned increase in capacity to season ticket holders." This announcement represented an increase compared to the initial projections, which They were expecting around 10,000 subscribersHe also promised to open the sales process for these season tickets "soon." However, there are still no updates on this, and fears are growing within the club that they may have to backtrack.The money from local vendors is needed to balance the budget "And if more matches go by without us being able to make any money, things might have to change," says one of the club's employees. Selling the 14,000 season tickets, at the already set prices of between 160 and 264 euros, represents an income of 3 million euros. Whether it's for the Champions League or the Clásico against Real Madrid, for now, it's just a rumor circulating in the offices.