Estadi Johan Cruyff – stadium description

Where was the new stadium for FC Barcelona's reserve team built?

In the autumn of 2013, FC Barcelona finalised the purchase of additional land adjacent to the club's Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper training complex. The facility has been in operation since 1st June 2006 and is located in Sant Joan Despí, a western suburb of Barcelona, approximately 8.5 km west of the club's main stadium, Camp Nou. The new site was purchased with an aim of building the club's new backup stadium to replace the Miniestadi, which has been in use since 1982. The transaction was worth €8.27 million.

When was FC Barcelona's new reserve team stadium built?

On 26th May 2015, the winning design concept for the new arena by studio Batlle and Roig Arquitectura was presented. On 25th March 2017 it was announced that the stadium would be named after one of FC Barcelona's legendary footballers, Johan Cruyff. On 14th September 2017, a time capsule with the foundation act was buried in the ground, thus symbolically marking the start of construction of the venue. Works were completed in the spring of 2019, and after several months of obtaining approvals and permits, the stadium could be inaugurated. The project cost €19 million to build. Before the stadium was built, there were tennis courts and small training pitches on the site.

When was the Estadi Johan Cruyff inaugurated?

The grand opening of the brand new Estadi Johan Cruyff took place on 24th August 2019. For the inauguration, the under-19 teams of FC Barcelona and Ajax Amsterdam faced each other (the visitors won 2:0). Following the opening of the new arena, FC Barcelona's previous reserve team stadium, the Miniestadi, which was located next to Camp Nou, was demolished in late 2019 and early 2020. The demolition was carried out so that a new indoor arena for the club, the Nou Palau Blaugrana, could be built in its place as part of FC Barcelona's infrastructure development plan (the so-called Espai Barça).

What does the Estadi Johan Cruyff look like?

The new, football-specific stadium was built in a rectangular shape, with stands surrounding the pitch on all sides. The main stand is located on the south-west side and is the only one with two tiers. The upper storey holds 1,000 and the lower levels of all stands 5,000 spectators, giving a total capacity of 6,000, clearly less than the auditorium of the Miniestadi, which offered more than 15,000 seats.

The double-deck stand was inspired by the former Camp del carrer Indústria stadium, which was FC Barcelona's home arena from 1909 to 1922 and had a distinctive two-storey main stand. All seating in the new stadium is roofed. The seats are blue, and in the stand opposite the main one, some of the seating is yellow - these form the design that is FC Barcelona's motto: "Més que un club" ("More than a club").

The stadium is equipped with LED floodlights and there are two LED screens behind the goals. There are 700 parking spaces at the side of the arena and the venue can also be reached by public transport bus, tram or underground. The stadium will be used primarily by FC Barcelona's reserve team, as well as the club's youth teams and women's section.