Barcelona are hoping to finally return home to Camp Nou from the early weeks of next season, a report has revealed.
The world famous stadium hasn't seen a ball kicked since the 2022/23 campaign, with Barca instead playing 'home' games at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys in the Montjuic neighbourhood.
It was intended to be a temporary measure for just last season, but delays in the Camp Nou redevelopment project have extended that stay to double its originally anticipated length.
But the final steps are being taken to ensure that the facility will be ready to begin hosting games again in the next few months. Mundo Deportivo writes that the pitch has now been laid, fully installed ahead of time to allow it to be ready to be played on in September.
Barcelona had previously confirmed the pitch-laying process would take around ten weeks and the time-frame should also eliminate further setbacks and delays.
The Camp Nou project won't be fully completed next season. The stadium, while re-open, will have to operate at a reduced capacity. But, still in excess of 60,000, it will be a step up from the Lluis Companys (55,000) in terms of size and therefore invaluable matchday revenue.
Final completion of all renovation work is expected ahead of the 2026/27 season, thereby restoring the capacity to over 100,000 once more.
In an official statement in February, Barcelona addressed the delays so far.
"The development of the works has undergone several unforgivables, a common situation in projects of this magnitude," the club reasoned.
"These have been due to factors such as theavailability of materials, the lack of qualified labor and work not initially planned, aspects that have generated changes in the execution schedules, which were very tight from the beginning."
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