Barca change Camp Nou return plan again

Spanish champions Barcelona said on Tuesday that they now plan to return to their renovated Camp Nou home only once they get permission to have a temporary capacity of 45,000 supporters.

The decision comes less than a week after Barca once again delayed their expected return to their iconic home stadium — which was initially slated for November 2024 before being pushed back several times.

Previously, the Catalan giants were hoping to reopen their stadium once they obtained a licence to host matches in front of 27,000 fans — something that they had hoped to secure last month.

The decision to wait until the temporary capacity is increased to 45,000 is almost certain to cause further delays to the re-opening of one of Europe’s great stadiums after a re-development that has suffered several setbacks.

The club are estimated to be paying 1.5 billion euros ($1.75 billion) for the Camp Nou rebuild, which has been beset by reconstruction chaos.

“Although it is expected to soon receive the first occupancy licence for phase 1A… Barcelona will work with the goal of returning to Spotify Camp Nou once the licence for phase 1B is obtained, which will expand the capacity to 45,000 spectators,” the club said in a statement without giving any indication of when that would be.

Barcelona were humiliatingly forced to play two matches at their 6,000 capacity Johan Cruyff training ground stadium in the first weeks of the season after failing to get the permit they needed for Camp Nou.

The city council said in September that they would not allow Barcelona to return to the stadium, which will have a capacity of 105,000 when it is completed, because of safety issues.

Barcelona confirmed on Tuesday that they will host their next La Liga game against Girona on October 18 at the Olympic stadium on the city’s Montjuic hill.

The club played there for the last two seasons while Camp Nou was closed and had to return there at the end of September following their two games at the tiny Johan Cruyff venue.

Barca had already announced their next Champions League match against Olympiakos will also take place there on October 21. Their next home games after that are against Elche on November 2 and Athletic Bilbao on November 23.