History
Construction
The construction of Camp Nou started on 28 March 1954 as Barcelona's previous stadium,
Camp de Les Corts
had no room for expansion. Although originally planned to be called
Estadi del FC Barcelona, the more popular name Camp Nou was used. The
June 1950 signing of
László Kubala, regarded as one of Barcelona's greatest players provided further impetus to the construction of a larger stadium.
[3][4][5]
Construction of Camp Nou began on 28 March 1954 before a crowd of
60,000 Barça fans. Civil governor of Barcelona, Felipe Acedo Colunga
presided at the laying in place of the first stone, with a blessing from
the Archbishop of Barcelona,
Gregorio Modrego. Construction took three years, going 336% over budget for a final cost of 288 million pesetas.
[5] The stadium was officially opened on 24 September 1957.
Handel's Messiah was performed at the opening of the stadium.
The architects were a team made up of Francesc Mitjans, Josep Soteras and Lorenzo García-Barbón.
Early years
In May 1972, Camp Nou hosted its first
European Cup Winners' Cup final between
Rangers and
Dynamo Moscow. Rangers won the match with a score of 3–2. The 1970s marked a turning point for FC Barcelona with the signing of new player,
Johan Cruyff in 1973. Electronic scoreboards were installed in the stadium two years later.
One of the stands displaying Barcelona's motto,
Més que un club, meaning "More than a club".
The stadium underwent an expansion in 1980, in anticipation of the
1982 FIFA World Cup,
which added boxes, VIP lounges, a new press area, new markers and the
enlargement of the third tier by 22,150 seats for a total capacity of
115,000 spectators. The club raised funds for the remodeling by
inscribing thousands of supporters’ names on bricks in return for a
small set donation. This later became a topic of controversy when the
news media in Madrid reported that the name of long-time Real Madrid
chairman and
Franco supporter,
Santiago Bernabéu, had been commemorated in this way.
[6][7][8] The first important game played was the final of the Winners’ Cup featuring
Barcelona against
Standard Liège, on 12 May 1982. Barcelona won the game 2–1 in front of an audience of 80,000.
Camp Nou was one of several stadiums used throughout the 1982 World
Cup, hosting the inauguration ceremony on 13 June. Before a
100,000-person crowd,
Belgium upset the defending champions
Argentina 1–0 in the match that followed.
[9]
Development
The stadium’s capacity has varied greatly over the years, opening at
106,146, but growing to 121,749 for the 1982 FIFA World Cup.
Apart from hosting FC Barcelona, Camp Nou is home turf to the
Catalan national team, their latest match as of August 2010 being a 4–2 win over Argentina.
[10] The stadium is frequently used for other football events. The European Cup final between
A.C. Milan and
Steaua Bucharest was held on 24 May 1989, with the Italian club winning 4–0.
[11] Camp Nou hosted part of the football competition, including the final, in the
1992 Summer Olympics.
[12] In preparation for these Games, two additional tiers of seating were installed over the previous roof-line.
[13]
Camp Nou underwent little change after 1982, except for the opening of the
club museum
in 1984. The stadium underwent a facelift in 1993–94, in which the
pitch was lowered by 2.5 m (8 ft), the security gap that separated the
lawn from the galleries was removed, and standing room was eliminated in
favor of individual seating. A new press box, renovation of the
presidential grandstand and boxes, new parking under the main
grandstand, and new lighting and sound systems were completed in time
for the 1998–99 season. In 1999 the UEFA outlawed standing sections in
stadiums, and Camp Nou’s capacity settled to its current level.
[1] The stadium hosted the
1999 UEFA Champions League Final later that year where
Manchester United played
Bayern Munich. United won 2–1, coming back from 0–1 down in
injury time.
[14]
A view of the supporters’ side during a match, showing the FC Barcelona colours
In 2000, fans were polled concerning the stadium’s name. Of the
29,102 votes the club received, a total of 19,861 (68.25%) preferred
Camp Nou to
Estadi del FC Barcelona, and thus the official name was changed to the popular nickname.
[15]
During 1998–99, UEFA rated Camp Nou a five-star stadium for its services and functionalities.
[16] However, as per the
2010 regulations, UEFA does not publish a list of the top venues.
The facilities now include a memorabilia shop, mini-pitches for
training matches, and a chapel for the players. The stadium also houses
the second-most visited museum in Catalonia,
FC Barcelona Museum, which receives more than 1.2 million visitors per year.
[17]
Future
To celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the stadium, the club issued
an international tender to remodel it. The objective was to make the
facility an integrated and highly visible urban environment. The club
sought to increase the
seating capacity
by 13,500, with at least half of the total seating to be under cover.
Should these renovations be completed, the stadium will be the third
largest in the world (in terms of seating capacity), after the
Rungrado May Day Stadium in North Korea (150,000 capacity) and the
Salt Lake Stadium in India (120,000 capacity).
On 18 September 2007 the
British architect Norman Foster
and his company were selected to "restructure" Camp Nou. With an
estimated cost of €250 million, the plan included the addition of 10,000
seats for a maximum capacity of 106,000.
[18] The board of FC Barcelona approved the sale of their former training ground
Mini Estadi in order to finance the remodeling. The project was planned to begin in 2009 and to be finished for the 2011–12 season.
[19]
However, due to the 2008 financial crises and subsequent fall in real
estate prices, the sale of the training ground was postponed and
likewise the remodeling project. In May 2010
Sandro Rosell,
then a candidate for president of FC Barcelona, dismissed the
possibility of selling Mini Estadí, saying it would be indefensible to
“sell the crown jewels”, and his election on 30 June has effectively
halted the plan to remodel Camp Nou.
[20][21]
Other uses
A panoramic photograph of the stadium in January 2011
Camp Nou was host when U2 played in Barcelona on their 360° Tour.
Camp Nou has been used for various purposes other than football, often hosting major concerts.
Pope
John Paul II celebrated
mass
for a congregation of over 121,000 at Camp Nou on 17 November 1982, on
the occasion being made an honorary citizen of Barcelona.
[22]
In 1983
Julio Iglesias played for 60,000 people, in what was described as a "most beautifully orchestrated" concert.
[23] Other high-profile performances at Camp Nou include those by
Bruce Springsteen on 3 August 1988 during his
Tunnel Of Love Express Tour; and again on 19 July and 20 July 2008 during his
Magic Tour. On 10 September 1988, a charity concert organised by
Amnesty International to support human rights featured, among others, Bruce Springsteen,
Sting,
Peter Gabriel,
Youssou N'Dour,
Tracy Chapman, and
El Último de la Fila. A concert by the
Three Tenors—Josep Carreras, Plácido Domingo, and Luciano Pavarotti—was held on 13 July 1997.
On 1 July 2009 the stadium held the launch of the
U2 360° Tour, which was attended to the maximum capacity of 90,000 people.
[24]
The lead singer of U2, Bono, explained that they had started their tour
in Camp Nou since “This is where we wanted to build a space station,
designed by Gaudi in the capital of surrealism." The concert ended with
Bono wearing an FC Barcelona jersey.
[25]
On August 9, 1988,
Michael Jackson appeared at the stadium in front of 95,000 fans during his
Bad World Tour.
