Barcelona want Spotify Camp Nou to become a pressure cooker for rival teams in the final months of the season after receiving permission to increase the capacity to 62,652 ahead of vital games in LaLiga and the UEFA Champions League.
Barça have been playing in front of a capped crowd of 45,000 since returning to the stadium in November — with two tiers behind one of the goals completely empty — as they awaited permission from the council to open the Gol Nord stand.
That permission arrived this week, with the Gol Nord now complete and ready to host fans for the visits of Sevilla in LaLiga on Sunday and Newcastle United in the Champions League on Wednesday.
ESPN took an exclusive first look at the latest phase of the overhaul of Europe’s biggest stadium.
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What’s new at Camp Nou?
After two years playing at the Olympic Stadium while Spotify Camp Nou underwent a €1.5 billion refurbishment, Barça returned last November, but it hasn’t quite felt right seeing Lamine Yamal score to the backdrop of an empty Gol Nord.
However, safety checks have now been passed and 17,000 additional fans will squeeze into the stadium as Barça compete to retain their title in LaLiga, where they have a four-point lead over Real Madrid at the top of the table, and to win the Champions League for the first time since 2015.
It will improve the visual experience, both inside the stadium and on TV, but perhaps the most significant development is the return of the Grada d’Animació, the singing section, at the other end of the pitch, in the Gol Sur.
The section — which holds around 1,200 fans — designated for the Grada d’Animació will finally open against Sevilla. The club are hopeful that the fans in there will help the crowd play the role of 12th man when it really matters, like on Wednesday when Newcastle visit with their round-of-16 tie delicately poised at 1-1.
“It changes a lot,” Barça director Joan Sentelles told ESPN of the importance of being able to expand the capacity and restore the singing section. “It’s vital to have the Grada d’Animació open.
“We hope they will really get behind the side, that the atmosphere they create infects the other fans coming to games and that we will all come together as one, supporting the team.
“Now this place can really start to become a pressure cooker, which is what we’re looking for to support the team.”
What’s still to come?
Spotify Camp Nou will feel more complete with all four sides filled with supporters, but there is still a lot of work to be done to finish the stadium.
The third tier still needs to be finished. Once it is, work can begin on adding the roof, which is estimated to take up to four months. Sentelles predicts work won’t be completely finished until 2028, with the stadium slated to host FIFA World Cup matches in 2030.
In the meantime, the plan is to open the third tier in three or four phases, but when each section is ready to open will depend on council approval. Mod cons also need to be added to the currently bare concourses and the VIP areas fine tuned.
Upon completion, Camp Nou will once again become Europe’s largest stadium. Hosting around 105,000 supporters, it will hold 15,000 more than Wembley and over 20,000 more than Real Madrid’s redeveloped Bernabéu.
“I can’t wait to see it finished, to be honest,” Sentelles added. “I have said this place is going to be a pressure cooker, but it will be even more so once the roof is put on.
“There have been significant improvements on the old ground, particularly in the third tier, in terms of accessibility and comfort, something that simply didn’t exist before. Now there will be facilities in the third tier: food and drink outlets, lifts, escalators — it’s amazing.
“It’s a much-improved stadium. Objectively, it’s much better than the one we had and I’m really looking forward to seeing it full and hearing those roars of support for the team.”
