The return of FC Barcelona to the Spotify Camp Nou may take much longer than expected by the board. Although the Barça staff insists on December of this year or January 2025 as tentative dates to reopen the culé temple, the vice president of the FC Barcelona Social Area, Antonio Escudero, has a slightly more conservative (realistic) vision regarding the deadlines required for the works. The club hopes to reopen the Estadi with a capacity of 60,000 spectators, a goal that is still far from being achieved.
"I don't dare say a date. What's more, I think that some dates that are being talked about, I imagine that they will not be fulfilled. In March it will be there, but everything that talks about November, January, February... I see it difficult. I do works and I always say that they are very complicated," the Barça manager explained to 'Catalunya Ràdio'. What is certain is that the initial date set by the board, for the club's 125th anniversary in November, is completely ruled out.
In that sense, Escudero added: "I see it as unviable for it to be at the end of the year. Opening a space as big as Barça is very difficult. You can't say I'll open next month and that's it." More optimistic, however, is the prognosis of Barça's vice president, Elena Fort, who does not close the door on being able to return to the culé temple before the end of 2024. The tentative date would be before Christmas, December 22 against the Atlético de Madrid.
Barça maintains a minimal option of reopening the Camp Nou this year
"The club is working so that the Spotify Camp Nou is finished before the end of the year, that is our plan. We want to play a game before Christmas, but the license does not arrive on time nor the logistics of the games... As for we can, we will return," Fort explained last Monday when presenting the latest progress of the project. At the moment the final waterproofing phase of the first and second stands is being carried out, while the third already has the formwork of the structure. Work in the parking areas is also progressing at a good pace, while the Gol Norte grandstand already has some seats in place.
In turn, Espai Barça's director of operations, Joan Centelles, admitted that the club was contemplating an extension in Montjuïc's contract until March 31, 2025. "Once we return it will be forever, not for a match. No. We will have two open stadiums. In no case is it contemplated to be at the Lluís Companys all year round," he pointed out. The truth is that, in terms of tentative dates, the one that sounds the loudest for now is February 2, when Barça hosts Alavés. Otherwise, we would have to wait another month, until March 2 (against Real Sociedad) to see the Barça team again in Les Corts.