Camp Nou

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Lore & Background

The construction of the Camp Nou started on 28 March 1954 as Barcelona's previous stadium, Camp de Les Corts, had no room for expansion. Although originally planned to be called the Estadi del FC Barcelona, the more popular name Camp Nou ('new field') was used. The June 1950 signing of László Kubala, regarded as one of Barcelona's greatest players, provided further impetus to the construction of a larger stadium. On 14 November 1950, the president Agustí Montal i Galobart obtained the favourable agreement of an assembly of members to acquire land for the construction of a new stadium, located in Hospitalet de Llobregat, which was later exchanged with the Barcelona City Council for other land in the neighbourhood of Les Corts. The appointment of Francesc Miró-Sans as president of Barcelona, on 14 November 1953, was to relaunch the project. The first stone of the stadium was laid on 28 March 1954. The project was completed three years later, when the club entrusted the construction to the building company Ingar SA. The work was supposed to last eight months, but the costs were more than four times higher than expected, reaching 288 million pesetas. The architects were Francesc Mitjans and Josep Soteras, with the collaboration of Lorenzo García-Barbón. Finally, on 24 September 1957, the feast of La Mercè, the Camp Nou was inaugurated. The stadium's capacity has varied greatly over the years, opening at 106,146, and growing to 121,401 for the 1982 FIFA World Cup. Barcelona's record attendance was set on 5 March 1986 in the European Cup quarter-final against Juventus in front of 120,000 spectators. The Camp Nou opened the Barcelona club museum in 1984. The stadium was renovated in 1993–94, in which the pitch was lowered by 2.5 metres, the security gap that separated the lawn from the galleries was removed, and standing room was eliminated in favour of individual seating. Although popularly called the Camp Nou, the stadium's official name was actually 'Estadi del FC Barcelona' since its completion, and it was not until the 2000–01 season that club members voted to officially rename the stadium to its popular nickname. In 2022, music streaming service Spotify reached a deal with Barcelona to acquire the naming rights to the stadium for four years in a deal worth $310 million. The stadium was rebranded as the Spotify Camp Nou in July 2022.

In Their Own Story

On 24 September 1957, the feast of La Mercè, Camp Nou was inaugurated. A solemn mass presided over by the archbishop, who welcomed the finished stadium, preceded the Hallelujah from Handel's Messiah. Dignitaries of the Franco regime and of the city gathered in the presidential tribune, and some 90,000 people attended the opening ceremony. During the event, football clubs from all over Catalonia paraded on the field, as well as members of the different sections of Barça, the penyes and the different Barcelona teams. The Camp Nou also hosted the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final between Manchester United and Bayern Munich, with both teams in contention to complete league title/domestic cup/European Cup trebles. Bayern led early through Mario Basler's goal in the sixth minute and kept the lead as the clock reached 90 minutes, but United came back to win with injury time goals from Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjær. On 1 October 2017, Barcelona's league match against Las Palmas was played in an empty Camp Nou due to political turmoil in the region.

Reader's Guide

Camp Nou has hosted two European Cup/Champions League finals in 1989 and 1999, two European Cup Winners' Cup finals, four Inter-Cities Fairs Cup final games, five UEFA Super Cup games, four Copa del Rey finals, two Copa de la Liga finals, and twenty-one Supercopa de España finals. It also hosted five matches in the 1982 FIFA World Cup (including the opening game), half of the four matches at the 1964 European Nations' Cup, and the football tournament's final at the 1992 Summer Olympics. Renovation of the stadium commenced after the end of the 2022–2023 season. Final completion of all renovations is scheduled for June 2026, although the stadium reopened in November 2025 at a reduced capacity. During the renovation, the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys served as Barcelona's home ground for both the 2023–24 season and 2024–25 season; the club played its first two league home matches in the 2025–26 season at the Johan Cruyff Stadium.

Did You Know?

• The stadium's record attendance was set on 5 March 1986 in a European Cup quarter-final against Juventus, with 120,000 spectators.
• Camp Nou was originally officially called Estadi del FC Barcelona until the 2000–01 season, when club members voted to rename it to its popular nickname.