On May 31, the old Camp Nou opened its doors for the last time to, curiously, say goodbye to Sergio Busquets, another symbol of Barcelona who defended the Blaugrana shirt for 15 seasons. The tribute was held on a lawn that is now history. The next day the bulldozers came in and the brown of the earth replaced the green.
This week the Limak construction company, in charge of carrying out the works, has taken a further step with the total demolition of the third tier, which will be built as a new one after the rectification of the project undertaken by the directive of President Joan Laporta. The rows of seats removed begin to accumulate in the large esplanade of the Auditori 1899 for later sale. And the image of the cranes knocking the pillars, buttresses and entrances to the stadium to the ground did not leave the residents and fans indifferent, who came to observe, amazed and nostalgic, the demolition of the temple that since it was inaugurated on September 24, 1957 has been witness of so many nights of football and emotions.
To start the works, FC Barcelona needed two types of licence: a first for demolition and two more to work on the foundations of the stadium and build it on the structure of the old one. The first two permits are already granted. The first came during the World Cup in Qatar, at which time part of the demolition of the third tier was carried out with the removal of the Gol Sud video scoreboard. The second permit arrived just five days ago. This license allows you to work on the subsoil foundations.
According to the forecast by Barça and Limak, the demolition work on the third tier will progress throughout the summer together with the movement of earth, retaining walls and foundations for the construction of the new stadium. To face the technical part with guarantees, Limak will use six unique large cranes in the world that are owned by him. The calendar that the club has designed establishes that the demolition and the presence of the excavators will last until November and that the construction of the new stands will begin this summer. Both the first and the second tier should be ready in November 2024, the date on which the Camp Nou will open its doors with a 50 percent capacity in the first and second tier and with another 1,000 seats available for the boxes VIP.
To start building this summer, the club’s executives are working with the Barcelona City Council to approve the remaining part of the building permit. The forecast is that the placet arrives before the end of June. In the consistory they assure that there is time and that if they have not yet been granted it is because of the changes that the Laporta board of directors proposed on the previous project and that required changes in the permits. These modifications are related to aspects of sustainability, technology, innovation and accessibility.
In principle and as established in the contract with Limak, the forecast is that the third tier will be finished by the end of 2025. By then, the roof and the last finishes will remain to be finished. It is predicted that the new Camp Nou will be fully ready for the 2026-2027 season.
In order to meet the year-and-a-half deadline set by Barça and Limak, 2,900 workers will be needed who are gradually arriving in the city. The working hours must be between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. from Monday to Friday and the operating hours of the machinery are set between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Any exception must be requested, justified and approved in the District of Les Corts.
