Current Camp Nou
The Camp Nou is the home base of F.C. Barcelona and the National Catalan team. The stadium was opened in 1957 with a capacity of 93.053 places. Later on the capacity increased to 99.354 places. As well as the pitch and changing rooms, Camp Nou provides offices and a museum about the club.
Camp Nou has been designed by Lorenzo García Barbón, Josep Soteras Mauri and Francesc Mitjans Miró. The latter participated in the elections as presidente del club and won. Francesc argued that the current Camp de Les Corts, the previous stadium of F.C. Barcelona was too small given the growing size and reputation of the club. In 1954, on the 28th of March the first stone was laid. More than 3 years and 288 million pesetas later, the stadium was finished and opened. As mentioned before, back then the stadium had a capacity of 93.053 places.
Due to the World Cup of 1982 in Spain the stadium was renovated and the capacity increased up to 115.000 places. After another rebuilding in 1994 the standing places were converted to seats which decreased the capacity down to 99.354 places. That is equal to the capacity nowadays.
From the outside the stadium does not look that big. It’s just 48 metres high and cannot get higher as this is forbidden by the local government. As a result the first ring has been dug in. So only the second and third are visible from the outside. If you move up the the third ring you will have an impressive view over the city of Barcelona!
Next to the matches of F.C. Barcelona, the stadium is also used for matches of the national team of Catalonia and concerts. Over the last decennium Bruce Springsteen, U2 and Michael Jackson have performed in Camp Nou. And chances are that more big stars will soon perform in the (new) Camp Nou.
If you want to learn more about the current Camp Nou, including the Camp Nou Experience tour, buying tickets for Camp Nou, how to get to Camp Nou, the redevelopment of the stadium, facts about the stadium, restaurants at Camp Nou and more, then check out the following article!
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All About Camp Nou 
Sarah Bakewell 26 Apr 2018 Discover how to buy tickets for the Camp Nou Experience, match tickets, facts about the stadium...
Project Espai Barça
The new Camp Nou is part of the Espai Barca project. As well as Camp Nou, the basketball stadium and the area surrounding the Camp Nou will also be improved and F.C. Barcelona's training ground will get a new stadium called Estadi Johan Cruyff. Project Espai Barça will cost €600 million and will last for 5 years. The matches won’t be disrupted by all the activities, which should already have started last summer.
New Camp Nou
The Camp Nou will get a huge makeover. First of all the capacity will increase up to 105.000 seats by equalising the walls of the stadium. As a result the capacity of the media area will increase as well. At the moment there is only space for 350 journalists and that's simply not enough. To further improve the atmosphere in the stadium and to provide people with a dry place to sit, the new Camp Nou will be provided with a roof. This roof will collect the rain that could be used within the stadium for several purposes.
IMPORTANT! The roof is an important element to increase the numbers of attendees. When it is raining and there is an less important match, the third tier is sometimes almost empty. Protection from the rain will enhance the experience of the fans and the number of attendees as well.
Moreover, all seats will be replaced by new ones and the first tier will be closer to the pitch. Gangways around the new Camp Nou will allow the visitors to enjoy the electric atmosphere and surrounding area. The idea of the gangways is to create the Ramblas around the stadium. In this way people will spend more time before and after the matches which will boost the revenue. This is also due to more and new bars and restaurants in and around the Camp Nou.
The new Camp Nou will contain more offices and the camera positions will be further improved. The museum and store are also impressive and are going to be even bigger. To make the stadium more accessible for people with disabilities, the number of elevators will increase. At the moment there is 1 elevator for every 8300 people in the stadium and this number will significantly decrease. As well as people with disabilities, the elderly and injured people will love this new feature. Especially when they have to move all the way up to the third tier.
After the renovation F.C. Barcelona will be able to light up the outside part of the stadium in every possible way they want to. This is comparable to the Allianz Arena of Bayern Munich, the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán of Sevilla FC or Torre Glories. This tower is located in Barcelona and the outside lights up every single night. Lighting up the stadium will create beautiful and breathtaking pictures of Camp Nou and the surroundings.
To save 200 million euro F.C. Barcelona could opt for a named sponsor of the new Camp Nou. This could save up to one-third of the costs, but at the same time the name Camp Nou has something magical and real soccer fans will be against such a change. Just the two words itself Camp Nou will bring up unforgettable memories about past matches and being together with friends.
If you come to visit Barcelona, we advise you to stay in an apartment near Camp Nou. This way, you will know one of the most emblematic districts of Barcelona and save money since hotels are more expensive and offer you less space and comfort.
New Palau Blaugrana
The new New Palau Blaugrana will be an innovative and multifunctional area that will have capacity for up to 12.000 spectators for sporting events and 12.500 for social and cultural events. The halls will be spacious and easily accessible and adapted for people with reduced mobility. The construction of the new Palau Blaugrana should have started last season and accordingly finish somewhere during the 19/20 season.
Surrounding Camp Nou
The area surrounding Camp Nou will be changed dramatically. All parking spaces will go underground which will save a lot of space around the stadium. The new parking area will have about 3500 parking spaces. The current parking areas around the stadium will be filled with green areas where people and fans can come together before, during and after the match. The walls between the streets and the stadium will be removed in order to create one and open square all around Camp Nou.
Estadi Johan Cruyff
The new Estadi Johan Cruyff will be constructed at Ciutat Esportiva, the training ground of F.C. Barcelona. The budget for this Estadi is 12 million euros and includes the construction of the new Estadi Johan Cruyff, parking spaces and infrastructure around the new stadium. There will be capacity of 6.000 spectators and it should have been inaugurated last season. Even though the construction did start, the stadium is far from finished. Expectations are that Estadi Johan Cruyff is to be finished in early 2019.
Extra! If you want to know more about the New Camp Nou, you might want to check out this video.
When will the new Camp Nou be finished?
The construction work should have started in mid-2017, then mid-2018 and now in mid-2019. But it’s uncertain whether construction will actually begin next year or whether it will be postponed again. This is because renovating the Camp Nou and the surrounding area requires permission from Barcelona city council. But so far the topic Project Espai Barça did not appear on the agenda as the city council has to take care of more things than F.C. Barcelona and co. So let’s hope that the city council will look at project Espai Barça soon, so they can start with the New Camp Nou.
Interesting Information
If you're interested in the Camp Nou tour and the professional lives of the players, you'll probably be interested in their personal lives too. Read this extensive article about Messi's house, including where he lives with a detailed description of his mansion, a house tour, photos of the house and much more!
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Lionel Messi’s House Sarah Bakewell 16 Mar 2018 Have you ever wondered where this global superstar lives? Read this article to find out!
Excursions in Barcelona
To make the most of Barcelona and fill your trip with unforgettable experiences and emotions, we offer you the excursions through the Catalan capital organized by our friends - the GetYourGuide team. Choose your excursion and fall in love with Barcelona:
