The ten chaotic months that have made the return to Camp Nou unpredictable

“Let's go home, let's vibrate,” read the slogan of the powerful campaign Barça launched on June 25th, in which the club officially announced its return to Spotify Camp Nou on August 10th for the Joan Gamper Trophy. The date was so certain that the announcement was accompanied by the presence of President Joan Laporta, a gesture that underlined the institutional relevance of the project, which has become the crown jewel of his second presidential term. But no. The Gamper Trophy will be played tomorrow at the Estadi Johan Cruyff (9 p.m.) with 6,000 spectators against Cesc Fàbregas' Como after the last of four attempts at a comeback.

It all began on May 28, 2023, the day the final match was played at Camp Nou. Barça won 3-0 against Mallorca , with Sergio Busquets as captain, in what was also their farewell on the pitch of the old stadium. Construction work began in June 2023, with full completion expected by the summer of 2026. The project was planned in phases, and the move was expected to last just a year and a half, with the initial return scheduled for the club's 125th anniversary in November 2024, in front of around 60,000 spectators spread across the first and second tier. It was then that Barcelona fans discovered the significance of imponderables: events or circumstances that, theoretically, cannot be foreseen.

From November 2024 to January 2025

"But the club is working to return before the end of 2024 or early 2025," declared institutional vice president Elena Fort, in a press conference in which the schedule and prices for mid-season tickets were detailed. She also assured that the 17,000 members who attended Montjuïc would receive priority treatment for their return.

After this second disappointment, Operations Director Joan Sentelles acknowledged a delay of at least four months. Among the reasons, he cited the bankruptcy of Inbersa, the company responsible for supplying the grandstand's metal structure, which temporarily halted delivery and assembly. Unforeseen technical modifications to the VIP rings and the roof were also mentioned.

From January to July 2025

In February 2025, a new difficulty arose: Barcelona was unable to obtain permission from the City Council for Limak to operate 24 hours a day, six days a week. This permission was finally granted in March, when a third return date in May was already being considered, coinciding with the Clásico on May 11 at Camp Nou. There was even a plan to play the final La Liga match against Villarreal there, but the club communicated that the priority was to advance the works during the summer, and that the dismantling of the cranes would delay the process.

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Nothing could be further from the truth. Permits were stalled. In fact, despite the campaign, only the City Council had been requested for an operating license, but not for the initial occupancy permit to open the stadium with 60% capacity. In the face of these delays, a penalty of one million euros was initially agreed upon for each day the completion of the works was delayed, with a limit close to 192 million euros. By May 2025, more than 166 days of delay had been recorded, implying hundreds of millions in potential penalties. However, according to the fine print of the contract, many of these causes are not attributable to Limak.

Now the club is reducing the initial capacity of the field from 60,000 to 27,000 spectators without losing sight of Montjuïc

The latest move in this regard came this week. The City Council authorized a modification to the building permit with the goal of opening the stadium in three phases, with an initial capacity of 27,000 spectators.

Club sources indicate that, in order to play at Camp Nou on September 14th in the fourth round of the league season against Valencia , they would need to sign the completion of this first phase by the end of next week, giving the city council a month to review and decide. Just in case, two seasons after that farewell to Camp Nou, Montjuïc is on the horizon. And tomorrow it's time to present the team at the Johan Cruyff Stadium.