Diggers littered in the exposed dirt outside the stadium, seats and stands stripped of colour and decoration and enormous cranes scattered across the turf; the iconic Camp Nou is pretty unrecognisable in its current state.
The iconic home of Barcelona is undergoing significant renovations that began at the end of last season and it's certainly more building site than beautiful footballing theatre as things stand.
Work is ongoing in Catalonia, with Barca hopeful of a return to their new-look arena by November 2024. However, things have not been plain sailing.
The club have faced significant delays to the construction process in recent days and weeks, perhaps impacting their planned Camp Nou return date.
Why are Barcelona renovating Camp Nou?
Like many historic stadiums across Europe, Camp Nou, or Spotify Camp Nou to offer it its sponsored title, was in need of a facelift. The beauty and quality on the field was not matched by the structure itself, with years of neglect and a lack of consistent renovation leaving it worse for wear.
Rivals Real Madrid have recently undergone work on the Santiago Bernabeu, with Barca likely casting some jealous eyes towards the Spanish capital. As a result, the City Council of Barcelona granted the club a licence to renovate the stadium back in April 2022, with work properly beginning this summer.
Barcelona have temporarily relocated to the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, a venue initially built to host the Barcelona International Expo in 1929, and an arena that was itself renovated in 1989 ahead of being the centrepiece of the city's Olympic Games three years later.
Work on Camp Nou is expected to be fully completed by the 2025/26 season - although Barcelona are hopeful of a return in late 2024 - and are expected to set the La Liga side back £1.3bn.
Why has work on Camp Nou been delayed?
The construction phase of proceedings at Camp Nou have been delayed recently, with Barcelona still waiting on the necessary permits to allow work to continue.
The club is waiting on the appropriate licence to be awarded to them by the City Council of Barcelona as a result of amendments made by club president Joan Laporta. Former president Josep Maria Bartomeu's previous plans have been modified by Laporta, especially in regard to the third stand that is now going to be taller than originally planned.
Barcelona have been waiting since August for the correct permissions, but are expecting to receive their licence to begin the construction in the next few days. When they receive this permit, a report will then be produced by the Assembly of Compromisarios regarding how quickly work can begin.
As a result of delays, there is some scepticism around Barca being able to play in the stadium by the original return date of November 2024, especially at full capacity. It's thought that several of the stands will struggle to be completed in this timeframe, with the Spanish outfit having to potentially delay their homecoming.
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This article was originally published on 90min as Why Barcelona have delayed knocking down Camp Nou.
