Marrakech- In Belgium, today, for Barcelona’s away Champions League match against Club Brugge, club president Joan Laporta provided a much-anticipated update on the team’s return to its nearly-70-year-old stadium, the Spotify Camp Nou.
During a reception organized by Bruges mayor Dirk De fauw in honor of the Barca delegation, Laporta gave tentative return dates.
“Everything has been checked and is ready, and now we will conduct a public test to confirm this. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the return will take place on 22 or 29 November,” Laporta said.
This is not the first time the Blaugrana board has announced the opening of the newly-renovated stadium. Since the start of the €1.5 billion euro revamp project in June 2023, a return has been floated unsuccessfully on multiple occasions.
In July 2024, Elena Fort, Laporta’s vice-president said the stadium would be ready for opening by the end of that year.
In January 2025, Fort made another failed promise. Speaking to Catalan Radio station RAC1, the VP said: “We will return before the end of this (2024-2025) season.”
More recently, in June 2025, the club put out a statement via its social media channels, declaring August 10 as the Camp Nou’s re-opening date, in time for the club’s yearly pre-season tradition: the Joan Gamper Trophy.
The statement, with the attached promotional video of Laporta welcoming fans to the stadium, have since been deleted, but traces of the botched announcement remain.
As a result, Barcelona have had to spend two full seasons at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, also known as Montjuic Stadium. This season, the club was even forced to host two La Liga games at the Estadi Johann Cruyff, a 6000-seater typically reserved for the club’s female and youth sections.
Why this time could be the one
Despite the previously failed promises, there is a feeling of optimism surrounding Barca that the return could, indeed, happen soon.
Last week, the Catalan club announced its first official event held at the new-form Spotify Camp Nou: an open training session scheduled for Friday, November 7.
This morning, Barcelona announced that all 23,000 tickets for the practice have been sold — a development that enthuses Laporta.
“There is a lot of excitement about Camp Nou. We are very grateful to the members and fans for being so enthusiastic. It’s great news that all the tickets have been sold,” he told SPORT.
According to SPORT’s report, Barcelona’s return within the timeline announced by Laporta is dependent on the club obtaining the Phase 1B occupancy license, which would almost double Camp Nou’s current capacity to 45,000 fans.
The Catalans are, reportedly, optimistic about receiving this license between November 12 and November 15, which explains Laporta’s circling of the November 22 and 29 dates.
If everything goes according to his plan, the November 22 La Liga fixture against Athletic Club is the first home match Barca would play after receiving the occupancy license, whereas the November 29 date coincides with the club’s 126th anniversary, two fitting dates to officialize the long-awaited return.
