Work permit granted to start remodelling the Camp Nou
The project to remodel and enlarge the stadium gets under way in June, once the sports season is over. The work represents a step forward in creating the Espai Barça, which will revamp the area around the stadium to become a quality open-plan space for local people, with green zones and bike lanes. The work will also see competitive matches relocate to the Lluís Companys stadium in Montjuïc during the 2023-2024 season, with work currently in progress to determine the conditions for the transfer and the joint responsibility of the club in covering the costs.
The issue of the permit will facilitate the spatial reorganisation of the area around the club facilities, allowing public space to be created and opening up the complex to local people. Over 111,000 square metres of public space will be renewed, with the club to bear the costs, the goal being to generate a quality new citizen space with more green areas and new bike lanes.
As from June, the project will focus on the first and second tiers of the stadium, the technological sphere, the areas around the stadium and the urban reconditioning of the exterior.
The Amendment to the General Metropolitan Plan (MPGM) for the Espai Barça, in force since 2018, also envisages work to recondition C/ Menéndez i Pelayo and the initial steps leading to the demolition of the building owned by the club in Travessera de les Corts (the fomer ‘Picadero’). The permit for the demolition of the ministadium and the walkway connecting it with the Palau Blaugrana was already issued in 2019.
More sustainable improvements
The coming weeks will see FC Barcelona present the final amendments to the initial project to revamp the stadium, which must be approved by the City Council’s Government Commission, and which includes improvements in terms of sustainability, innovation, technology and accessibility. The final project will thus include the installation of 18,000 square metres of solar panelling on the new roof, a geothermal system for the overall distribution of heat and cold, the reuse of rainwater from the roof, plus the promotion of the circular economy and biodiversity in the area through a 15% increase in tree mass at the complex.
The execution of the various works at the stadium will require the club to play elsewhere during the 2023-24 season, namely the Estadi Lluís Companys in Montjuïc. Both institutions are working on an agreement setting out the conditions for the use of the stadium. This will include the work necessary at the alternative venue and FC Barcelona’s joint responsibility in bearing the resulting costs in relation to mobility, cleaning, safety and maintenance.
