Blaugrana's officials have announced that the renovation of their home venue will accelerate. The club intends to take advantage of the break in LaLiga schedule, caused by the World Cup in Qatar, to demolish part of the stands. Other minor renovation works have been ongoing since July this year.

The timetable for the more than €1.5 billion upgrade of Spotify Camp Nou will be pushed forward. Barca have decided to carry out part of the work during the World Cup break in November and December. Previously it was planned for the 2023/24 season, when the club is expected to temporarily relocate to Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys as we reported here. This involves the partial demolition of the south stand, Gol Sud.

© FC Barcelona

Developments will involve the demolition of the outer ring of the cantilever roof that extends from the facade of Gol Sud (which formerly housed the Asistencia Sanitaria medical centre), and half of the third level of the same area of the south stand, acting partly as a counterweight. Demolition will be carried out using traditional mechanical methods. The preliminary site preparation work will begin on September 1, with the dismantling of installations, catering areas, seating, accessories, railings, beams and the scoreboard.

Redevelopment of this part of Spotify Camp Nou is a priority at the moment, as it will be the place where all the technological connections will be installed. Therefore, this area needs to be ready before the rest of the work starts next season. This phase of modernisation is expected to be completed by the end of the year. The project, which will have an estimated cost of €4.6 million and is included in the bridging loan signed last summer, will be tendered in the coming weeks.

© FC Barcelona

The works will result in the removal of 3,782 seats in the southern zone, mainly on the third level. 3,182 of these belong to season ticket holders. They will be relocated to similar zones in another part of the venue or given a temporary postponement of their pass payment. On the second level, 1,215 season ticket holders, seated between entrances 315 and 322, will have to move to uncovered seats and the club will adjust prices as compensation. Six VIP boxes, which are normally used by visiting clubs, will also be affected by the changes.

Once the partial demolition of the third floor is completed, pillars will be built and foundation work will be carried out. This will also be followed by new staircases and fire escapes to restore the use of the first and second level seats, which will not be affected by the works. The partial demolition of the third tier of Gol Sud will be the most significant stage of the works to be carried out in the 2022/23 season. Other operations have already started in July concerning both the exterior and interior of the stadium, technological aspects, as well as surroundings of the arena.

© FC Barcelona

The systems and technology infrastructure (CPD) is currently being relocated to new technical rooms in areas that will not be affected by the construction work, such as the car park of the Barcelona Supporters' Office (OAB) and the basement of Auditori 1899. Similarly, work is being carried out with the operators to implement a new connectivity system in the stadium. The goal is to minimise the risk and impact on fans, business customers and the technology used in the sport.

The side stand warehouse on the lower level of the OAB is also being relocated, and some work is being done to improve the security on the third level, placing safety netting and making some repairs. All these works are expected to be completed by the end of the year. Robert Lewandowski will therefore not be playing at Camp Nou for too long in its current shape.

You can take a look at this, as well as the 19 other venues in the upcoming LaLiga season, in our latest material on the stadiums of the Spanish elite: