The Nou Camp is one of the most iconic stadiums in the world and inextricably linked with Barcelona, but the Catalan club could be about to leave it in the near future.
According to BBC Sport and other sources, the Spanish giants are looking to increase the capacity of their stadium to 105,000 (the Nou Camp’s current capacity is just under 100,000) and want to construct a roof to cover the ground, meaning that the stadium as it stands could be subject to a significant makeover, or “profound remodelling” according to Board spokesman Toni Freixa, or a new stadium could be built on a site that currently belongs to the University of Barcelona.
The club’s board of directors are due to vote on a plan of action early in the New Year, but the news that a move away from the Nou Camp is being considered will come as a surprise to Barcelona fans and football fans all over the world.
“Both would have a capacity of 105,000 spectators, the stadium would be covered,” Freixa said.
“It needs to be viable from a technical perspective, urbanist and economic. We would never submit a project that would endanger the sustainability of the club.”
As well as playing host to all home games for the best club in Europe in recent seasons, the iconic stadium, which has hosted Barcelona games since 1957, has also hosted two European Cup Finals and was a venue for the World Cup in 1982 and the Olympics ten years later.
The Barcelona motto ‘Mes que un club’, meaning ‘More than a club’ is emblazoned in giant letters in the stands of the fabled ground and surely the Nou Camp itself is more than just a stadium.
No doubt Barcelona fans will await the decision of the Board of Directors in the New Year with great interest.
