Incredible new images of £1.25bn Barcelona stadium makes it look unrecognisable
Today at 11:18 AM
Barcelona are very much into the second phase of their Camp Nou redevelopment, and it's time for supporters to start getting excited.
The LaLiga behemoths have been keen to keep fans in the loop during the process to knock down and rebuild the iconic arena, and the latest updates are absolutely stunning.
Formerly the biggest football stadium in Europe with a capacity of 99,354, the rebuilt Spotify Camp Nou will take that number to the 105,000 mark, well above rivals Real Madrid at 85,000, all at a cost of £1.25billion.
Barcelona began knocking down the old arena in June 2023 and following in the path of rivals Madrid (don't tell them we said that) they've kept the foundations in place to rebuild up from.
YouTubers have been invited to look through the works while president Joan Laporta attended the site with head coach Hansi Flick and youngsters Lamine Yamal, Gavi and Pedri.
Hobbyist influencers have also shown that the Camp Nou is beyond the halfway point, with colour finally added in the shape of some new seats installed by Turkish construction company Limak.
But the real excitement comes from a preview of how the arena will end up, with the club producing some thrilling video simulations.
It's not just the Camp Nou that will be transformed either. The who surrounding area, or 'Espai Barca' as the club are calling it, will see 18 acres designated for the five-time Champions League winners.
That includes six new buildings – the Camp Nou itself, a new hotel area with three towers, a members office, a basketball stadium, ice hockey rink, and bus parking lot.
The club say that 'sustainability will be the DNA of the project' with the new roof made from solar panels, while it will be safer, have better entrances and bigger seats with new VIP boxes allowing it to host events outside of football.
And, perhaps more importantly for anyone who's ever been, all 105,000 seats will now be covered, as opposed to the zero from the previous iteration, which either led to sunburn or wet socks.
Inside there will also be a unique new belt directed down from the roof with gigantic screens, a feature which makes the stadium stand out just as much as its massive capacity.
When can we see all this, you ask? Well, possibly sooner than expected.
Speaking at a recent members meeting, vice president Elena Fort said that they still hope to be moved back in by the end of 2024, although it has also been widely reported by local media that the club recently secured an extension with their current Montjuic Olympic Stadium home until March 2025 as a fallback.
Should fans be back in their seats for the New Year, it won't be all of them. Fort also said that it will re-open at 60 per cent capacity, the equivalent of 62,000 spectators.
Again, like Real Madrid, work will continue around the team's matches, with the full Espai Barca project not expected to be fully finished until mid 2026.
When fans do return, there will be a pleasant surprise, with ticket prices only a small increase on what they cost before in the previous iteration of the Camp Nou.
With 45,000 of the 62,000 returnees to be club members, season ticket prices will range from €435 to €755 for those who take up the option.
Cranes will remain in place when football initially returns, but many remodelling aspects like lighting and bathrooms will be finished. Others like catering, parking and club shops will be provisionally back running before further upgrades.
