The China Mail - Barca go 'back to the future' for renovated Camp Nou reopening

The club's ambition is to have a state-of-the-art modern stadium to match a team catapulted back into the European elite, although both are still works in progress.

Reconstruction continues at Camp Nou, which is now not expected to be completed until the summer of 2027 -- a year behind schedule -- when its roof is lifted into place.

Likewise, Hansi Flick's young side charged to a domestic treble last season but came up short in the Champions League, beaten in a thrilling semi-final by Inter Milan and hoping to go one step further this season.

Similar to the club itself since being crowned kings of Europe in 2015, the Camp Nou was crumbling, decaying: its grandeur diminished.

On the pitch, Barcelona fell behind their rivals. Costly bets on Philippe Coutinho, Ousmane Dembele and others flopped. Barca slumped into great debt.

A succession of coaches came and went, the club's greatest icon Lionel Messi departed too, shortly after Joan Laporta was appointed president in 2021.

The Argentine was back at Camp Nou earlier in November, on an improvised visit, reflecting both his love for the club but also the tension that still exists between himself and the current board.

Laporta reiterated earlier this month that there had been no way for Messi to stay and that he had to hold "Barca above all".

It was one of the reasons the club pushed ahead with the 1.5-billion-euro ($1.75 billion) Camp Nou rebuild, despite its poor financial health.

Laporta's board pulled several 'palancas' -- financial levers -- in 2022 to make a raft of signings, including Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha, while hacking down the wage bill at the same time.

Along with the emergence of young stars like Lamine Yamal from the club's vaunted La Masia youth academy, these moves helped keep Barca competitive amid their economic crisis.

With the club financially in critical condition, Laporta viewed the renovation of Camp Nou as essential, pushing on with a plan first mooted long ago.

"This project started 15 years ago, and for eleven of those years, nothing was done," Laporta told reporters earlier this month.

"When we arrived in 2021, we thought it was essential to carry out this action to make the club sustainably viable."

- 'Back to the future' -

Reopening the stadium will also provide a welcome boost to the club coffers and start to account for the sacrifices previously made.

Barcelona's proposed budget for the 2025/26 season included an expected 51 million euros extra in stadium income from an earlier return to Camp Nou.

That was before The Catalans were humiliatingly forced to play two matches at their 6,000-capacity Johan Cruyff training ground stadium in the first weeks of the season after failing to secure the permit they needed for Camp Nou, because of safety reasons.

The stadium will reopen with a capacity of 45,401, with the top tier yet to be built, but once work is completed it will reach 105,000: the biggest in Europe by some distance.

But Barca must reach at least 90 percent of that capacity by the start of next season -- in line with their plans -- in order to avoid losing some income from their Spotify sponsorship deal, which Spanish reports said was at risk because of the building delays.

General sale ticket prices for the first game, in La Liga against Athletic Bilbao, are high, which Laporta said reflected the occasion.

"This is going back to the future," Laporta told radio station RAC1.

"It will be a historic moment and we get back a (home advantage) factor we did not have at Montjuic. The moment of return will be delicious."

The Olympic stadium on the city's Montjuic hill proved an acceptable temporary home for Barca but, with the fans separated from the pitch by the width of the running track, not overly atmospheric.

However with the club in a stand-off with the 'grada d'animacio' -- singing section -- and attendances limited, it may take some time to turn Camp Nou into a suffocating fortress worthy of the stadium's history.

Barcelona stars are looking forward to returning, regardless.

"Montjuic was the beginning. Camp Nou is where history will be written," Yamal posted in an image on Instagram.

The teenager made his Barca debut at 15 years old at Camp Nou in the final weeks before it was mostly demolished, but several members of the squad have never played the stadium, which was opened in 1957.

The Camp Nou will be in the running as a potential host venue for the 2030 World Cup final, for the tournament held in Spain, Portugal and Morocco.

Laporta's optimistic proclamations juxtaposed with construction chaos may have caused disappointment along the way, but Barca's new home is now ready to be inaugurated.

"We think that this is the legacy we will leave to future generations of Barcelona fans -- the best stadium in the world," declared the president.

M.Chau--ThChM