31 March 2023 , 10:35
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Barcelona will spend next season away from the Nou Camp after redevelopment plans were finalised.
The Espai Barca project was approved by the club's board on Thursday night and will see the stadium and its surrounding facilities improved in a £1.3billion renovation project. The plans are backed by US investment firms Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, who are set to be partners.
Next season will therefore be the first time the Catalans have spent the season away from the Nou Camp since the 1950s and will instead take temporary residence at the Estadi Lluis Companys, which is located in the south western of the city in Montjuic.
The stadium was previously the main arena for the 1992 Olympics and has been home to the city's other major outfit, Espanyol. The 55,000-seater stadium is a notable decline from their usual home with Champions League games also going to be on the calendar.
In March 2022, Barcelona reached a “long-term” sponsorship deal with streaming service Spotify to rename their stadium to the ‘Spotify Camp Nou’. The global brand is also the shirt sponsor with both the men's and women's teams - the latter hoping to deliver European glory once more.
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Barcelona could find themselves moving across the city as defending champions with Xavi aiming to claim the LaLiga title in his first full season as manager. The Catalans recently claimed a late victory in El Clasico to further increase their lead over Real Madrid.
The former Olympic Stadium will be their temporary homeThe Catalans are currently 12 points clear of Los Blancos with 12 games remaining. They could yet complete the double as they hold a slender lead over Madrid in their Copa del Rey semi-final.
Barcelona's arch rivals Madrid have recently renovated their Bernabeu stadium in recent years, which meant they had to play away from their usual home. That was during Covid, which meant they didn't have to consider how the move would affect their fans.
The stadium in the capital, venue for the 2010 Champions League final, is now an even more impressive sight but construction works did overrun and exceed the original budget - problems Barcelona too could face. The Nou Camp has not hosted the final of the European Cup since 1999, but has been the stadium in which records have been set for women's football attendances.