How Barcelona's dream reconstruction of Camp Nou turned into a never-ending nightmare for Joan Laporta

Laporta described the Ordinary General Assembly on October 17, 2021 as "one of the most important in the history of the club". Barcelona were in financial disarray, still counting the colossal cost "of the serious deficiencies" of the previous administration. According to Laporta, his predecessor, Josep Maria Bartomeu, had left behind "the worst accounts in Barca's history".

He spoke of refinancing packages and the renegotiation of player contracts in order to immediately address the dire economic situation. However, Laporta argued that the key to making a full recovery was the completion of the Espai Barca project - which centred on the transformation of Camp Nou and its surrounding area.

"It has been needed for a while now," he said. "We will be responsible and we ask you to give us a vote of confidence as it is absolutely necessary to grow and to compete with our rivals."

Laporta received the support he was seeking, and on December 19, 2022, club members voted overwhelmingly in favour of the €1.5 billion (£1.3bn/$1.76bn) project.

"It's a success for all Barcelona fans and for the singularity of the club," Laporta said at the time. "I am excited and ecstatic when I see the mock-ups of Camp Nou and the new arena. It will be a step forward in our lives."

Four months after the vote, the local council granted permission for work to begin on Espai Barca project in June 2022, 'with the focus on the second and third tiers, technology, the environs of the stadium and exterior urban planning'.

At the same time, Barca revealed that the 'bidding process for works' had been brought forward, with the tender to open in July and be awarded 'no later than October'. However, Barca only announced on January 9, 2023 that Turkish contractor Limak Construction would be in charge of the building of the new arena.

"We want the Spotify Camp Nou to be built in the shortest possible time at the best price: two things that this company can do," vice-president Elena Fort told reporters. "Work will begin in June 2023 and we will return to the Spotify Camp Nou before the 125th anniversary... The speed of the construction guarantees the least economic damage."

As per the original plan, the majority of the required work was to be carried out during the 2023-24 season while Barcelona were playing their home games at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on Montjuic. When Barca then returned to Camp Nou for their centenary celebrations in November 2024, the ground would have an initial capacity of 62,000 - which would increase to 105,000 upon completion of the second and final phase of construction before the summer of 2026.

However, it was clear during the summer of 2024 that Limak were behind schedule, meaning Barca had little hope of celebrating their centenary on home soil.

Inevitably, questions began to be asked of Limak, who had only previously built one stadium, the 25,000-seater Mersin Arena, while it was also noted that all of the architects, engineers and consultants had begun working on the project under Bartomeu had since walked away.

Fort, though, was still speaking optimistically about the Catalans returning home before "the end of the year". By January 2025, that had changed to "the end of the season". Unfortunately, even that objective proved unobtainable.

Given the ongoing uncertainty, it came as a surprise to see Barcelona announce that Camp Nou would host The Gampar Trophy clash with Como on August 10 with a reduced capacity of 27,000. Indeed, the initial excitement sparked by the 'We're back' slogan didn't last long, with Barca revealing on July 18 that they had been forced to move their traditional-opener to the Johan Cruyff Stadium, which is located beside the club’s training ground and is home to the Blaugrana’s women’s team, reserves and Under-19s.

"This decision is due to the fact that the necessary work to comply with the requirements of the Ordinance Regulating Municipal Intervention Procedures in Construction Works has made it impossible to complete the procedures required for the granting of the initial licence," a club statement read. "Specifically, due to the scale of the work carried out, it has not been possible to meet all the conditions laid out by the regulations governing this licence, despite the club's intention to reopen the redeveloped stadium sector by sector.

"The club is liaising closely with Barcelona City Council and the relevant authorities to make progress on the different requirements and will inform its members and fans of any new developments regarding the return date. This delay does not affect the planned schedule for the repayment of the Espai Barca debt."

The reference to the cost of the project was significant, as there was growing concern over the financial impact of the constant delays - especially after Laporta admitted that "all the commitments we have under the financing contract are included in returning to the Spotify Camp Nou".

Fort claimed back in January 2023 that as well as securing "guarantees" that every deadline related to the project would be met, Limak had also agreed to a "maximum price that can never be exceeded". This very important stipulation effectively protected the club against the potential for spiralling construction costs.

However, Barca are still paying a heavy price for being forced to continue staging games anywhere but Camp Nou. According to financial experts, playing at Montjuic cost the club an estimated €90 million (£78m/$106m) in commercial and matchday revenue over the course of the 2023-24 campaign alone - and the belief is that the losses have only doubled in the interim, which is far from ideal for a financially-crippled club that has long struggled to register new players because of their economic constraints.

It also doesn't help that the naming rights deal with Spotify for Camp Nou will only be worth the full €20m (£17m/$23m) per annum when the stadium is fully open, and it's been reported that Barca banked €5m while it remained closed last season. 

The Blaugrana had hoped that the sale of VIP seating at the new ground would alleviate their well-documented financial problems - but the money raised couldn't be included in their latest budget as the seats hadn't yet been installed.

Intriguingly, Catalan newspaper Ara alleged that Barca's request to prioritise the VIP section actually contributed to the delays - along with external issues related to red tape, residential complaints and even the Russo-Ukrainian war, which affected the cost and availability of construction materials. 

It, thus, feels significant that Laporta remains reluctant to point the finger at Limak for the delays, even though the construction company is liable for €1m for every day that the project is delayed.

“I hope it doesn’t come to the point where we are claiming penalties because it’s true that a series of penalties have accumulated due to delays in certain phases of the project, but we can’t blame them directly for these delays. There have been some delays but that is normal for a project like this," Laporta said in July.

"We’re also understanding. What we want is to finish the work, not claim penalties. We want this to be over as soon as possible. We have a very motivated company like Limak. We’re all in the same boat. We’re like a family; we meet every two weeks. The owner of Limak comes, the CEO, who is his daughter, comes with his children, who work for the company.

"They know they’ve accumulated penalties, but they’re confident that if the objectives are met, this will be subject to negotiation. And I think there won’t be any problems in this regard because what we want is for the project to be completed, to be completed well, with the level of quality and safety we all desire."

The net result is that Barcelona won't be staging their first competitive fixture of the 2025-26 season at Camp Nou - and they won't be hosting Valencia at the Olympic stadium either. For logistical reasons, the Blaugrana cannot play at Montjuic on Sunday because the American rapper Post Malone played there on Friday - which rather sums up the farcical nature of the situation.

The question remains, then, when exactly will Barca be back at Camp Nou? But the answer is still the same: nobody knows for sure.

An exception has been made to La Liga's rules to allow Barca to play Valencia at the Johan Cruyff Stadium this weekend as the rulebook states that a venue must have a capacity of at least 8,000 seats, while Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology has also reportedly been installed just in time for kick-off.

Fortunately for Barcelona, the Montjuic lease runs until February and no further concerts have been scheduled between now and then, which is just as well, as Fort is unsure whether a reduced-capacity Camp Nou will be ready for Barca's next home game, against Getafe, on September 21.

What's vitally important, though, is that the stadium is open for the meeting with Real Sociedad on September 28, as UEFA rules state that a club must have played at least one previous home game at a venue if they wish to use it in continental competition, and Barca are desperate to stage their Champions League clash with Paris Saint-Germain on October 1 at Camp Nou. Even that might be an unrealistic goal, though, as the Sociedad game could clash with a planned fireworks show on Montjuic as part of the Le Merce festivities. 

Given everything that's gone before, Fort is no longer making any predictions. "I can't guarantee that we'll be at the Camp Nou against Getafe," she told RAC1 earlier this week. "We hope to have the authorisation but we'll try to get there as soon as possible. We're working to start at Camp Nou on October 1."

Whether this deadline will be met is obviously very much open to debate. All we know for sure is that two years on from that sunny morning at Camp Nou, the construction process is still ongoing. Barcelona's collective dream has turned into a personal nightmare for Laporta, and the intended source of pride has become yet another cause for concern for the cash-strapped Catalan club.