Camp Nou

Work underway on new Camp Nou pitch

WWW.FCBARCELONA.CAT 07/22/2012 11:45
Work began this Sunday on re-laying the Camp Nou pitch. The new playing surface should be ready at the beginning of August

The work will involve some 8,900 square metres of Bordeaux turf, nine tons of sand and 2 tons of nutrients. The new surface should be ready well in time for the kick-off to the new league season on 18th or 19th August


Work got underway as scheduled on Sunday on re-laying the Camp Nou pitch, which will be of the same type as Pitch Nº 1 at the Club’s training grounds. The new pitch will be ready in time for the opening league match against Real Sociedad on 18th or 19th August.

The first job is to remove the top layer of the existing surface and replace it with a mixture of sand and nutrients. Once this sub-layer has been consolidated, the new turf will be placed on top and allowed to take root. The whole process should be complete by the beginning of August.

A necessary change

After a careful study, the Club found that there is currently no refrigeration system capable of maintaining the Camp Nou pitch in optimum conditions during the hot summer months in Barcelona. In June, Barça president Sandro Rosell announced that the Club had decided the best solution was to re-lay the pitch every year to ensure the very best conditions for the Barça’s style of play.

Stadium improvements

The Club is also using the summer months to carry out a series of improvements to the stadium itself. These include the changing room tunnel, the exterior lighting, the refreshments area and new drainage channels for the pitch and the stands.

So, I was in spain 2 weeks ago, both madrid and barcelona, and naturally, going to the camp nou was to be the highlight of the whole trip. I was in madrid first, so I went to the bernabeu and admittedly, that was impressive. You come out of the metro station "santiago bernabeu" and BAHM you're right in front of it, main entrance with a huge real emblem in silver, and you had this feeling here's one of the centers of world football.
Now, in barcelona, the metro station is a 10 minute walk from the stadium and what really astonished me, the whole area seems totally non-related to barca or football in general. I was thinking back then, I'm standing here 500 meters from the biggest stadium in europe, home to the greatest club on the planet and there is no indication whatsoever. no offical signs, no flags, no football-themed bars or cafes, not even some fc barca grafiti. Even worse, it was about three hours before the game against valencia, and not a soul in sight. I mean in my city, the fans may be a bit crazy, but when you have a match later that day, the entire district is a sea of green and beer by 12 am.
so, i don't know, corb or some other local resident, is that normal or did i just take the worst possible route to the stadium?

khorne said:

So, I was in spain 2 weeks ago, both madrid and barcelona, and naturally, going to the camp nou was to be the highlight of the whole trip. I was in madrid first, so I went to the bernabeu and admittedly, that was impressive. You come out of the metro station "santiago bernabeu" and BAHM you're right in front of it, main entrance with a huge real emblem in silver, and you had this feeling here's one of the centers of world football.
Now, in barcelona, the metro station is a 10 minute walk from the stadium and what really astonished me, the whole area seems totally non-related to barca or football in general. I was thinking back then, I'm standing here 500 meters from the biggest stadium in europe, home to the greatest club on the planet and there is no indication whatsoever. no offical signs, no flags, no football-themed bars or cafes, not even some fc barca grafiti. Even worse, it was about three hours before the game against valencia, and not a soul in sight. I mean in my city, the fans may be a bit crazy, but when you have a match later that day, the entire district is a sea of green and beer by 12 am.
so, i don't know, corb or some other local resident, is that normal or did i just take the worst possible route to the stadium?

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From which metro-station did you leave: Les Corts, Maria Cristina or Palau Reial? From Les Corts to the Camp Nou (along the Travessera de les corts) before the match usually there're plenty of bars where the fans gather, and also plenty of "shops" where they sell Barca-stuff. The route from Maria Cristina or Palau Reial to Camp Nou is less lively though from my experience, so I guess that's the road you took.

In case the Camp Nou gets renovated, where could they possible add new seats? It would be awesome if they could increase the stadium capacity from 100.000 to 110.000 (or even more), but I can't really understand where they would put those seats. Can the General be expanded?

The Camp Nou turns 55

www.fcbarcelona.com

09/24/2012 09:00

FC Barcelona's emblematic stadium was inaugurated on this day 55 years ago. Here's an overview of Barça's five-star stadium


Camp Nou 1957 / PHOTO: FCB ARCHIVES


This Monday is the 55th anniversary since the Camp Nou was inaugurated. Here’s an overview of the history and features of the biggest stadium in Europe:

• 1957. The Inauguration of the Camp Nou

The stadium had an initial capacity of 93,053 spectators. The total cost of the Camp Nou was 288,088,143 pesetas. Today, Camp Nou is the stadium with the largest capacity in Europe, accommodating 98,772 spectators.

• A Brief History of FC Barcelona’s Stadium

It is often said that what finally convinced the board that there was no other option than the construction of a new ground was the arrival of the now legendary Ladislau Kubala, one of the finest players ever to appear for FC Barcelona. And although there can be no doubting that Kubala attracted more interest than ever in the team and meant the club’s spirits hit a new high, the decision to build was inspired just as much by the two League titles won in 1947-48 and 1948-49, which was before the great Hungarian had signed for the club.

• A Five Star Stadium

Although it was originally going to go under the official name of ‘Estadi del FC Barcelona’, it soon came to be popularly known as the 'Camp Nou' (the ‘new ground’), as opposed to the club’s old home at Les Corts. It was not until the 2000/2001 season that, following a mail vote made by the club membership, that the decision was made to make ‘Camp Nou’ the official name of the stadium. Of the 29,102 votes the club received, a total of 19,861 (68.25%) preferred Camp Nou to Estadi del FC Barcelona.

• 20 Years of Mosaics at the Camp Nou

The first mosaic at the Camp Nou was put up on March 7, 1992. It was for a league fixture against Real Madrid, 17,000 fans held up cards in the second and third tiers of the North Goal. The background was in the Barcelona and Catalonia colours, and the message featured just one word, 'BARÇA'.

• Evolution and Major Events

The stadium has undergone several renovations and improvements since 1957. The most important include the unveiling of the floodlighting system in 1959, as well as the addition of the grandstand electronic scoreboard and the press room. But other than these specific changes, the biggest upheaval was the extension work of 1982, when the stadium was enlarged for the staging of the World Cup opening ceremony. The addition of a third tier raised the capacity by 22,150.

• The Camp Nou Experience

The Camp Nou Experience treats visitors to journey through FC Barcelona’s accomplishments, historic archives, multimedia installations, and a tour of Barça’s five-star stadium.

Any news on that new stadium?

Jadentheman said:

Any news on that new stadium?

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The decision will be taken with a referendum among the club members.

Corb said:

The decision will be taken with a referendum among the club members.

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Referendum will probably be held in 2014-2015.

CF4 1899 said:

Referendum will probably be held in 2014-2015.

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Interesting date regarding the fact that the contract with Qatar expires in 2014 and Rosell's term.

Machina said:

Interesting date regarding the fact that the contract with Qatar expires in 2014 and Rosell's term.

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I think Rosell's term only expires in 2016 (they have extended the presidency term from 4 years to 6 years recently, so in Rosell's case it would be 2010-2016))

Someone I follow(Khaled, maybe?) said the Donbass Arena looks fantastic. Had a look at it, and I very much like it! How about you guys?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donbass_Arena

Usually with there kind of stadiums I fear of the inside, but this one is looking truely amazing on the inside as well. Costs were around 400M, but that is ofcourse for a stadium of 52k capacity. Would cost more for 100k capacity, but still. I'd take this over de Allianz Arena all day, any day.

There are a lot of new stadiums that are pretty impressive, Donbass is certainly one of them (Suisse architects )...Still don't like the idea of new construction, like many here have already alluded to - it's a shite economy...So while construction costs are low, philosophically I'm against the idea of new construction, per se. Unless there are structural issues that prevent true renovation of the existing Camp Nou, we should avoid this disposable attitude towards construction - part of the reason there's such a construction/housing crisis in Spain, IMO

Barcelona has such a rich history with architecture and would be a real travesty, I feel, if they were to just dump & run to a new location - it flies in the face of the essence of the club/city, I believe...I'm sure part of the thinking has been that the venue is a bit remote in relation to the rest of the city and would generate more revenue if more centrally located - even near/on the marina...Still, I think it'd be a mistake even just logistically since the city already has tremendous traffic and tourism in the heart of the city as it is

I'd like to see a version of Laporta's initial idea to revamp the Camp Nou, modernize and give the facade the sort of facelift deserving of a club with this sort of history & tradition

Won't new construction stimulate an economy though?

Jadentheman said:

Won't new construction stimulate an economy though?

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It does and it doesn't, as Sergio pointed out...It's a bit like one step forward and two back...What do the do with the land and infrastructure that is already in place?...How do they recoup that value in a market where property has been bottoming out - unless you believe in creative financing like the capital did in flogging their land for a ridiculous sum of money...Look at the problems Los Che have with a new stadium

Nevermind the issue of finances and how a club that only just recently couldn't afford color toner is now ready to splash the cash on a €400-600 million project...And again, in this economy...I think it's a terrible idea and let's be honest, did we not see this coming with Rosell?...He's a corporate stooge

I think the first thing is to wipe out the debt, as in 0. Then they should design a complete package, stadium, indoor arena, parking garage, offices, a hotel and commercial spaces (not a commercial center though ala Florentino). The land that Camp Nou sits on is around 14 ha in size, so the space needed is more than enough.

The reason I think they should build a new stadium rather than renovating Camp Nou is that no matter what they do, 30 or 40 years down the line, they will still have to build a new stadium because the existing stadium only have a design life that at most is a 100 years, and the older that stadium get the more expensive the upkeep get, to the point when the maintenance cost is so high that it just is not worth it. This will happened sooner or later.

I also think that the club should not move to a new location, Camp Nou is currently served by 2 metro lines and a third is under construction, this is impossible to improve from a logistics point of veiw.

The main problem will be to deal with the socios that will not be able to renew their season ticket for the duration of the construction, some kind of compensation could be arranged. During the construction the Olympic stadium could be used, with temporary stands it can be expanded to 80.000. The team would probably need to relocate for 3 seasons though.

The real benefit of building a completely new stadium with all the surrounding installations will be income, with a retractable pitch and a retractable roof the stadium could be used 365 days a year for anything and everything, concerts, shows, convents, etc. This would give the club lots of extra income, with a hotel and offices to rent out the club could subsidize the season tickets with these extra sportive sources of income.