The Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona is where soccer fans from all over the world dream of going. For many of them, the sights of the Catalonian capital, Barcelona, are associated exclusively with the famous soccer club.
The Camp Nou Stadium is as famous as Antoni Gaudi’s architectural creations scattered around Barcelona. It fascinates fans like the Sagrada Familia, the Catholic temple that Gaudi began to build.
Camp Nou is the only European stadium that has five stars and can accommodate about 100,000 spectators and fans. And most importantly: this is FC Barcelona’s home stadium.
History of Camp Nou Stadium
In the last century, when the soccer team of Catalonia began to play better and better and reached European and even world level, it became clear that the old soccer stadium does not correspond to the professional level of “Barcelona”.
So in the 50s of the 20th century there was an urgent need to build a new, large, modern stadium – Camp Nou, which would be a symbol of power of the beloved team of Catalonia, and all of Spain.
The desire to build a new sports stadium in Barcelona was spurred on by the fact that the construction of the stadium for the eternal rival of the Catalans, Real Madrid, had ended. The Barcelonians were eager for their stadium to be bigger and cooler.
Their dream came true. During the 50s of the 20th century, the Camp Nou stadium was built and put into operation. The construction lasted only four years. At the same time, the stadium project was created by a cousin of the then manager of the soccer team.
FC Barcelona’s stadium was inaugurated with a match against a Polish club. And the Barcelonians confidently defeated their opponent, without a smashing score, but with a significant margin.
Originally the stadium had a long and complicated Spanish name, until it was shortened simply to Camp Nou or “New Stadium. The second official name quickly caught on among the inhabitants of Barcelona.
The history of the New Stadium is closely linked to the history of soccer and of the Barcelona soccer club itself. If the requirements for soccer matches and the rules of the game change, the stadium itself changes immediately.
As the team got older and more successful, Camp Nou became more and more spacious. At one time it housed more than 120,000 seats. Today the requirements for the stadium have changed – the capacity has become a little less than 100 thousand seats.
Reconstruction of Camp Nou
Today the Camp Nou is over 60 years old, it is in excellent condition, in the renovation project it was decided to increase the number of seats to 112 thousand, so it will become the third largest stadium in the world.
In the near future it is planned to reconstruct the stadium. The Camp Nou will have a roof that will extend over the fans’ stands when it rains. There will also be an increased area for VIP-fans and media representatives.
The stadium will be externally decorated with glass objects with intricate reflective effects. Escalators and elevators will be built for fans. Great attention will be paid to facilitating the movement of people with disabilities.
The author of the project belongs to the famous architect Foster, who has already built many buildings in Barcelona that have come to the heart of the citizens and visitors of the city. The design for the renovated stadium is now ready for implementation.
FC Barcelona Museum at the Camp Nou Stadium
One of the most sought-after places at the stadium is its museum. The team’s numerous fan club and soccer fans are very proud of the exhibits on display, which tell the story of the club and its current achievements.
Only the Picasso Gallery is more popular in Spain than the Camp Nou Museum. Every year the soccer museum is visited by at least a million people. Among them are not only fans, but also tourists from all over the world.
The museum covers an area of 3,500 square meters and is divided into three zones. The history of the soccer club can be viewed on an interactive screen in the first zone. There are lots of photos, videos, and documents.
The entire screen is divided into several segments, you can touch the segment of interest to you and open a huge content of information about your favorite club in excellent quality.
There are an incredible number of different collections. Everything in the museum is made with a great love for the Catalan club and soccer in general, so even a person, far from soccer themes, will certainly be interesting here.
In the second area of the museum, works by Catalan artists dedicated to Catalonia, Barcelona and soccer are on display. The visitor will be imbued with the local national characteristics and feel a love for this part of Spain.
The third zone is the most popular with museum guests. Barcelona’s trophies are on public display here. For fans there are uniforms of famous players, their personal belongings given to the museum.
Many of the items on display here tell the story of the club, with more information from them than from the author of the book or the guide’s story. Every such thing is precious for a Barcelona fan.
It is interesting to walk through the museum and see Koeman’s golden cleats, in which he scored the decisive goal at Wembley at the end of the last century. Look at Maradona’s uniforms, Messi’s stuff. After all, Barcelona is more than just a club.
What else is interesting?
Club Barcelona has long ceased to be just a soccer team in its home stadium, it has become the hallmark of Barcelona and the whole of Catalonia, has become the heritage and pride of the Catalans.
The stadium is not idle even during the vacations. There are always a lot of inhabitants of Barcelona and guests of the Catalan capital. There is a restaurant with excellent cuisine and quite democratic prices.
Any tourist can have lunch or a bite to eat in the restaurant, admiring the stands of Camp Nou, imagining how yesterday the fans went crazy here, not hiding their emotions, and thanked their team for the victory.
Another attraction is the stadium tours. Extremely popular with tourists and residents of the city, because here the Catalans show their national character and demonstrate the will to win.
Where is Camp Nou Stadium?
The stadium is located at 12 Aristides Maillol Street. There are two metro stations nearby: Collblank and Maria Cristina. There are several bus lines nearby, and cabs are also available.
Map of Camp Nou
FC Barcelona website: https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/
How much is a ticket to the Camp Nou stadium?
Tickets for Camp Nou: 25€. If you have set a time to visit Camp Nou, you can buy tickets on the club’s official website or directly from the ticket office near the stadium. If no time is set, buy tickets with an open date, but they cost more.
You can stay at the Camp Nou stadium all day, for as long as you like. There is no time limit for visitors. There is no specific program other than the stadium tour, which you can also do on your own.
