Barcelona will play at the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium in the 2023-24 season. It's official. The agreement between the Barcelona City Council and the Blaugrana club was presented by the first deputy mayor, Jaume Collboni, and the Barcelona president, Joan Laporta, with the stadium as a backdrop. "During that year the third tier and the roof of the Camp Nou will be built as part of the renovation of the Espai Barça and we will play on Montjuïc", announced Laporta. "We hope it will be an excellent season for Barcelona in this magnificent stadium," Collboni wished.
“Hello, Barça”, could be seen on the video scoreboard at the Estadi Olímpic in blue letters on a red background. President, welcome to your house. Never better said”, Collboni greeted Laporta. “There is no better way to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Olympic Games than for Barcelona to use the Olympic stadium. It gives full meaning to giving use to the Olympic areas”, stated the socialist politician.
"It is an iconic stadium and a reference in the city," described Laporta, who is not worried because it has not hosted a football match since December 2013 and who had first explored the option of expanding the Johan Cruyff. The club has already made an estimate of what the transfer will cost. "We estimate that it will cost Barça between 15 and 20 million euros," Laporta explained. That includes the rent and the adequacy and reforms of the facilities. “We have committed ourselves to adapting the Olympic facilities. We want to ensure the comfort of our partners. That is why we will modernize several spaces: the press room, the locker rooms and an internal parking lot”, he detailed.
On the other hand, the City Council and Barça will also launch a mobility plan to make the arrival of fans more accessible during League, Europa and Copa del Rey match days, which may be 27 in total. To this end, public transport will be reinforced with the funicular and there will be bus shuttles from Sants, the L9 metro and Plaza Espanya and the les penyes coaches. "We will improve the maintenance of the escalators, a new bike lane and three more Bicing stations and the extension of bus and metro hours on match days," Collboni explained.
Laporta ruled out that Barcelona advance its arrival at Montjuïc before that campaign, with a capacity for 55,000 spectators, which will be rotating for the members. In other words, the 22-23 season, Xavi's team will play entirely at the Camp Nou, for financial reasons. “It is a year that we need to protect the income statement. At the Camp Nou there are more business options and we have to take advantage of them”, he confessed, while thanking the council for the facilities, although he does not plan to extend his stay either.
The president of Barça announced that the board is "about" to close the first economic lever of those authorized by the assembly on June 16. “We are working to execute the lever of television rights. Soon you will have news because a lot of work has been done in recent days and it is early. In July, with time, another will be made. Two or three operations will be done, ”he revealed. That will mean an injection of money and perhaps not close the year 21-22 with a loss.
