At the start of the year FC Barcelona expected to advance the renovation of Spotify Camp Nou to raise capacity to over 60,000. The club aimed to secure the permits tied to Phase 1C from the Barcelona City Council in time to have the stadium ready for 62,000+ spectators for the match against Levante UD on 22 February.
Those plans have been pushed back. Catalunya Radio reports that the City Council will not grant the 1C permit in time for the Levante fixture, meaning the game will be limited to just over 44,000 spectators rather than the roughly 62,000 that the next phase would allow.
The core problem is that Barça has not yet submitted all the paperwork required for the 1C licence — a complicated but necessary bureaucratic process. Additionally, at recent meetings there was a misunderstanding between the club and the council about problems encountered when exiting the stadium, with several exits becoming congested and creating bottlenecks in specific sections.
Technical advisers recommended opening all gates, while the club considered this impractical because it would not have enough staff to manage so many access points. A few days later technicians clarified they meant the gates should not be locked with padlocks rather than that they should be fully propped open. In any case, the episode highlighted coordination failures between the parties, delaying the shift to the next phase indefinitely.
The club is now focused on securing the 1C permit in time for the Villarreal match on 28 February. That is important not only to satisfy members — especially with elections approaching — but also for financial reasons: every match played with capacity limited to 44,000 costs the club between €1–1.5 million in revenue.
To obtain approval Barcelona will need clearance from City Council technicians, the Fire Brigade, Civil Protection, the Mossos d’Esquadra and the Guardia Urbana.
