Barcelona preparing for return to Camp Nou with year-long delay | OneFootball

So far all of the dates that Barcelona have publicly given for a return to Camp Nou have been erreoneous, and concern continues to grow about a project that is set for severe delays, alongside significant financial implications.

The Blaugrana had included a return to Camp Nou in the budget considerations for midseason of this year, a leeway period of a month from the original stated return date of November 2024. That date was then pushed back initially to February, and most recently, Institutional Vice-President Elena Fort stated that the intention was for Camp Nou to be back and operational for 60,000 fans before the end of the season.

That seemed unlikely given the current state of the works, and this week fresh reports emerged, albeit not the first, that the Blaugrana could give up hope of returning before the end of the year. Now Beteve (via MD) have proffered even more worrying information about their return date.

They say that some of the service providers for Barcelona’s stadium operations have been warned that a return to normal operation at the Spotify Camp Nou is not likely to come before the end of November 2025 – a full year delay on the club’s initial target.

That would mean playing the entirety of their 125th anniversary year in the cold atmosphere of the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, but more pertinently for President Joan Laporta and Director of Football Deco, a major impact on their budget. Montjuic can host up to 55,000 fans, just five less than the initial capacity for Camp Nou, but the difference in matchday revenue through attendance and associated matchday costs numbers in the millions.

The atmosphere at Montjuic has never been brilliant, but the club have gone out of their way to exacerbate the problem too, banning the singing section due to anti-Laporta chants, and hiking the prices to levels only affordable for one-off visits from tourists and the wealthy.