Camp Nou demolished! Where will Barcelona play next?

The Catalan stadium, which was built in 1954, is being refurbished at a cost of roughly £1.5 billion, with the building process scheduled to last until 2026, keeping the hosts away for at least two seasons.

The footage of stands of almost 99,000 seats being reduced to ruins left many fans with mixed feelings. As many as 250 workers have been seen on site as of now, with even more expected soon.

However, the rapidity of demolition indicates that Barcelona are completely prepared to welcome an ambitious new era, with the famous arena’s capacity slated to grow from 99,354 to 105,000 seats.

First Messi now the Camp Nou…….End of an Era: pic.twitter.com/l8InWUevAO

— Joe Morrison (@joefooty) July 11, 2023

Also as part of their partnership with the music streaming company, the stadium’s name will be formally changed to the ‘Spotify Nou Camp’ after the renovation.

Which will be Barcelona’s home ground next season?

While the Nou Camp is redeveloped, the La Liga winners will move to the Olympic Stadium in Montjuic next season. The ground hosted the 1992 Summer Olympic and Paralympic games and has a capacity of around 55,926.

Barcelona are expected to play in this stadium for only one full season. The Camp Nou renovation is expected to go on for almost 999 days.

However, the stadium will be allowed to host with a 50% capacity from the 2024-25 season and the next season will see it getting fully completed.

Xavi and his team are currently at the club’s training facilities to prepare for the pre-season. As many as 26 players are taking part in the first pre-season session ahead of the 2023/24 season. The team is set to fly out to the United States for the pre-season.