Barcelona given green light for Camp Nou redevelopment

The La Liga giants have been cleared by Barcelona City Council to press ahead with plans which will see three venues updated or built from scratch

have been cleared to press ahead with their plans to redevelop Camp Nou and create two new venues in the surrounding area.

The ‘Espai Barca’ project has been in the pipeline for several years, but has now officially been given the green light.

Barcelona City Council has approved the project, with work expected to begin in the summer.

Mayor Ada Colau said: “It is a very special day and it is a historical project in which we have been looking for a proposal that everyone agrees on for years and today we can announce that we have reached an agreement for the urban transformation of Espai Barca.

“FC Barcelona and the city of Barcelona have an inseparable relationship It makes us go anywhere in the world and it was very important to reach this agreement.

“The whole project will take place without any expense on the part of the City Council of Barcelona, ​​Barca will take care of the entire economic cost.”

The giants will not be moving home as part of the Espai Barca proposals, but Camp Nou will be getting a face lift.

The development work will see the venue remain the biggest stadium in Europe, with a capacity in excess of 100,000.

Among the alterations being planned is the installation of a roof which will provide shelter from the elements for all of those in the stands.

The intention is for all works to have been completed by the end of 2021 or early 2022.

The Camp Nou will be getting a facelift in the #EspaiBarça project #FCBLive pic.twitter.com/5ooi4H3qmN — FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) May 26, 2015

The Espai Barca project is about much more than merely Camp Nou, though, with there another two arenas to be constructed.

The first, the €90 million Palau Blaugrana, will be the new home of Barcelona’s basketball, handball, roller hockey and futsal teams.

It will be able to house 12,000 spectators for sporting fixtures and 12,500 for other events.

Some 8.5km away from Barca’s main base, the Estadi Johan Cruyff will also be built.

Work has already begun on the 6,000-seater venue which will host Barcelona B, Barcelona Femeni and UEFA Youth League games.