The Uruguayan Villaverde scored the first official goal and Ansu Fati scored the last at the old Camp Nou. Nobody has celebrated as many there as Leo Messi and it remains to be seen who is the author of the first official goal at the new Spotify Camp Nou after its inauguration. But in these days of rubble, cranes and works, the Limak construction company has scored a first goal. The Turkish company has managed to complete the demolition of the third stand, an essential step to begin the major renovation of the stadium, one month ahead of time.
It is a great advance, since the workers went to work at the facility on June 1. That is, in four months, on September 30, they have been able to cut a month off the planned schedule by completing the demolition. Something that is applauded by those in charge of both parties since the Spotify Camp Nou is a project in which time has become a priority.
The goal is for the Blaugrana team to return home in November 2024, coinciding with the club's 125th anniversary. “I have a final in a year,” confirms Joan Sentelles, director of operations at Espai Barça. Limak acquired that commitment as his own when he was awarded the tender to build the stadium.
And the Turkish construction company wanted to make a show of strength at the beginning, gaining almost four weeks of advantage in this race against the clock. “For Barcelona and for Limak, time is the priority,” acknowledges Sentelles, who goes even further. “Finishing on time is not negotiable for Barça,” he says. The club estimates that with the stadium at full capacity, in August 2026, it will earn 247 million a year in the stadium. For this reason, the club has million-dollar penalties for each day of delay in delivery.
Something that doesn't seem to worry Limak. “This is the great challenge of the project: time. But we are very confident about meeting the deadlines. We have never had to pay a penalty,” repeats Haldun Firat Köktürk, general director of Limak Contruction. “They have the record for works completed on time,” defends Sentelles. There is no shortage of examples: the Çanakkale bridge was completed 18 months earlier, they entered the Senegal airport when it was eight years old and delivered it in eight months, and for the headquarters of the Central Bank of Turkey in Istanbul, which will be the second tallest building of Europe with 380 meters, they have raised 56 floors in less than four years.
Curiously, the first disagreement between the consultancy and Barcelona was for a good reason. A pleasant disagreement, after all: that progress in the dismantling of the third stand, which also included the façade of the grandstand and the underground parking spaces of the esplanade. The contract also includes bonuses for achieving objectives that reward progress. These work for weeks. “The bonus for bringing forward the end of the demolition will be around one million euros,” the club explains, although it is not clear if it is three or four weeks that should be deducted. In any case, it is a tiny fraction of the 960 million that have been set as the maximum guaranteed price.
“I hope I have to pay a lot of bonuses,” jokes Joan Sentelles about Limak's efficiency. For its part, the Turkish company does not doubt the key to gaining almost a month on the calendar. “If we have finished the demolition sooner it has been thanks to the vast majority of local workers (based in Catalonia),” explains Köktürk, with a percentage of 80%-20%: “They knew perfectly well the regulations on sustainability and recycling.”
Once this demolition phase is over, the construction works begin, for which the payroll of workers will triple. Until now there were 450 workers a day in the stadium, from now on there will be 1,500 workers on average. Here the percentage of residents will drop to 70% because labor will arrive from Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey.
Another change will be evident to the naked eye very soon, because the large 85-meter crane will not be alone. Two more are already being installed. And before the summer there will be six, all from Kuwait airport. These six gigantic cranes, owned by Limak, are the key to being able to work on different parts of the stadium perimeter at the same time and then to continue with the works on the third stand once the team returns to the Spotify Camp Nou with 65% of the capacity, finally estimated at 104,500 spectators.
Working in parallel allows the production of work that can be executed to be greater than that of a traditional work. “For some construction companies it is a puzzle, but Limak is used to doing it,” Sentelles elaborates. Another point that will speed up construction is that some large pieces, such as the columns, will be made outside and transported from Spain and Turkey. “To achieve this, we have standardized the stadium into almost identical modules,” they reveal.
Much of the work certification will be carried out this season when Barcelona has gone into exile in Montjuïc. In the coming year, the first and second tiers will be operable, the third will be finished and the roof structure will be raised. The changing rooms, parking, museum, toilets and bars will operate at full capacity.
“Exceptionally, it is planned to work some Saturdays and Sundays,” they admit from within. The entire calendar is planned with sufficient slack, and each day progress data will be entered to check the exact moment in which Limak's work is being produced, which from the start is already beating time.
