FC Barcelona temporarily moves to the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys

Why is FC Barcelona going to move?

The aim of the reconstruction of the Spotify Camp Nou is to modernise and expand the stadium. The stadium will become more sustainable and innovative. Camp Nou was originally built in 1957 and the last renovation took place in 1989, so it’s about time for renovations to take place. The stadium can welcome even more supporters after the renovation – no less than 105,000 in total. Barça has been renewing the stadium for quite some time already, but it can’t go on while the stadium still hosts matches. That’s why FC Barcelona decided to move temporarily to the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys.

The Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys

The Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys was built for the 1929 Olympic Games, and it has a capacity of 55,000. The stadium is named after Lluís Companys, the president of the government of Catalonia during the Spanish Civil War. The stadium is primarily used for great events, concerts and sports matches nowadays.

The stadium has a rich history. The Summer Olympics of 1992 took place at the stadium, and it served as the head site of athletics matches. It was also put to use for the opening and closing ceremony of the Games. The stadium hosted the World Athletics Championship in 1982. The second football club of Barcelona, Espanyol, played their home matches at the stadium from 1997 until 2009/10, when they moved to a new stadium.

What can we expect?

It is expected that the renewed Spotify Camp Nou will be finished in 2025/26. The idea is that FC Barcelona will only spend one season at Lluís Companys and will return to Camp Nou in the season of 2024/25. The stadium will allow 50% of the capacity in during that season, since it’ll still be under construction at that point of time. This won’t be very uplifting for the club… That’s why, when things don’t work out as planned, it is possible for the club to return to the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys to play the rest of the 2024/25 season there.

Despite the Estadio Olímpic Lluís Companys not being the homeground of FC Barcelona, we can expect that the club will do everything to create an unforgettable experience for the fans. After all, the movement to the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys creates a unique opportunity for fans to visit a match of FC Barcelona at an historical and iconic stadium from a beautiful location with a fantastic view over Barcelona. How high the supply and demand will be for the upcoming season with a capacity of less than 50% (= 50,000 Barça fans) remains to be questioned. Time will learn…