The China Mail - Barcelona to show off unfinished Camp Nou with public training session

Capacity for the event will be limited to 23,000, less than a quarter of the 105,000 the stadium is expected to hold once the heavily-delayed construction is completed.

"The FC Barcelona men's football first team will officially return to the Spotify Camp Nou next Friday, November 7, to hold an open training session in front of the Barca fan," the club said on its website.

Tickets will cost five euros (5.77 dollars) for club members and 10 euros for the general public, with proceeds going to a club charity for sick children, said Barcelona.

More than two years since the start of renovation works, the famous stadium is still not ready to host matches, even with a reduced capacity.

"This session will also serve as a technical and operational test to ensure the proper functioning of systems, access points, various aspects of the facility, as part of the stadium's gradual reopening process," said the club.

The city's fire department has raised concerns over evacuation routes, among other safety issues.

Barcelona originally hoped to reopen the ground last November but works have been hit by a series of delays.

The city council has only been prepared to approve a capacity of 27,000 spectators, which has prompted the club to continue playing at the Olympic Stadium in Montjuic until they can return to Camp Nou in front of at least 45,000 people.

The delay in the work represents a huge financial loss for the club, which needs the revenue generated by its stadium to regain stability.

Financially troubled Barcelona are estimated to be spending 1.5 billion euros on the rebuild.

A.Sun--ThChM