Football Club Barcelona is all set to say goodbye to their iconic stadium Camp Nou with their upcoming match against Mallorca on Sunday, being the last match to be played at their home ground for the last 60 years.
The Blaugrana will be shifting their base from the 99,000-seater Camp Nou, which has been their home ground since 1957 and move to the Estadi Lluis Companys, a 55,000 capacity stadium in Montjuic, the large hill southwest of the city of Barcelona.
However, the change in their home stadium will only be a temporary one for the 2023-34 season as the Camp Nou is set to go through renovation. This comes after plans for renovating their iconic fortress was first revealed by President Joan Laporta back in April, 2022 and were approved earlier this year. The Catalan club are set to receive funding of up to €1.5 billion (£1.3bn/$1.6bn) from US investment firms Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan for their Espai Barca project.
Barca have also informed both the City Council and UEFA about their decision to vacate the Camp Nou for renovation purposes for the upcoming season. This will be the first time since 1957 that the Catalan club will play their home games at a different stadium away from Nou Camp. Prior to that, Barca had enjoyed a 35-year stint at the old Camp de los Corts.
Meanwhile, the renovation plans mark a significant period of change for the club and the stadium after it had been rebranded as the “Spotify Camp Nou” ahead of the start of this season following a deal with the music streaming giant.
Their final season in the Camp Nou, for the time being, has been a success with Barca claiming the La Liga title after opening up an unassailable lead in the points table. They sit comfortably with 85 points from 36 games, 13 points ahead of second placed Atletico Madrid and 14 points ahead of arch rivals Real Madrid.
