This afternoon the ball is rolling again in the Spanish Football League and, as always, Barça and Madrid are the favourites. The whites will recover their recently remodeled stadium and the blaugrana will suffer an exile while they rebuild the Camp Nou. Seen like this, the meringues start with an advantage because they will play at home and in optimal conditions. Instead, the culés will make a pilgrimage to the mountain of Montjuïc to a borrowed stadium, with half the capacity, greater access difficulties and a structure that is too cold for the passionate football environment.
The fact that the Estadi Olímpic presents a good entrance is not only important for economic reasons, but also for image and prestige for both the club and the city. A priori, it shouldn’t be difficult to fill the 49,000 seats on Montjuïc if one takes into account the enormous mass of fans of the club. But the first signs issued by the partners are disturbing because many have declined to see the team in these conditions and will wait for the new Camp Nou. The first litmus test was this week at the Gamper Trophy, which obtained a better entry than the doomsayers expected, but was far from sold out. For this reason, this season we will hear more than one call for assistance to Montjuïc and we will surely see adjustments in the access measures. In this sense, there are many fans who wonder why it was possible to go by car to the weekly concerts this spring by Bruce Springsteen, Beyoncé or Coldplay that brought together so many more people and, instead, now the City Council has vetoed access in private vehicle for Barça matches that have a smaller capacity. And that the Urban Police accumulates a long experience in managing the flow of mobility in the mountains in the frequent events that are held.
But don’t worry, the changes will come because neither the city nor the club will be able to resist the image of the half-full stands on world television. The good performance of the team and the victories will encourage fans to walk to the Lluís Companys stadium, but more facilities will be needed. The good news is that there is time to improve. Enjoy.
