History
Barcelona had outgrown their old stadium., Camp de Les Corts, which had held 60,000 supporters. The Camp Nou, built between 1954 and 1957, was designed by architects Francesc Mitjans-Miró, Lorenzo García Barbon and Josep Soteras Mauri. FC Barcelona won their first game at Camp Nou in impressive fashion, a 4-2 victory against Legia Warsaw, with Eulogio Martínez scoring the first goal at the new stadium. Over 90,000 fans were present at this momentous occasion.
The stadium capacity has varied, opening at 93,053 but growing to 105,000 for the 1982 FIFA World Cup. With the outlawing of standing sections at the stadium in the late 1990s, its capacity settled to just below 99,000.
The outside of the Camp Nou
One of the stands displaying Barcelona's motto, Més que un club meaning More than a club.
The stadium's facilities include a memorabilia shop, mini pitches for training matches, and a chapel for players. The stadium also houses the most visited museum in Catalonia, El Museu del Barça, which receives about 1,200,000 visits per year. The museum was inaugurated in 1984 under the presidence of Josep Lluís Nuñez. The museum shows 1,420 pieces about FC Barcelona's history, of which 420 are trophies. The inauguration ceremony of the 1982 World Cup was held on June 13. In front of a 100,000-strong crowd, Belgium beat Argentina 1-0.
Camp Nou has been host to other major events outside the sphere of football. Notable music artists who have performed in the stadium include:
- Pink Floyd
- Michael Jackson
- U2
- Bruce Springsteen
- Frank Sinatra
- Julio Iglesias
- Sting, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Youssou N'Dour, Tracy Chapman, Peter Gabriel and El Último de la Fila at the Amnesty International's Concert for Human Rights
- The Three Tenors: Josep Carreras, Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti
- Josep Carreras
- Montserrat Caballé
- Lluís Llach
Pope John Paul II celebrated mass with a congregation of over 120,000 at Camp Nou on November 17, 1982.
Future
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the stadium, the club issued an international tender for architects to develop a project for re-modeling the stadium. The aim of the project was to turn the stadium into an integrated and highly visible urban environment. Whilst not aiming for a substantial increase in seating capacity, proposals must accommodate a minimum of 50% of seats to be under cover.
On September 18, 2007, British architect Norman Foster and his company was selected to "restructure" the Camp Nou. The plans include an extra 10,000 seats to be added and the estimated cost is €250 million.
The grandstand of the Camp Nou during a match
Recent and historical significant matches
- 1964: Real Zaragoza 2 - Valencia 1 (final, Inter-Cities Fairs Cup)
- 1972: Rangers 3 - Dynamo Moscow 2 (final, European Cup Winners' Cup)
- 1982: Barcelona 2 - Standard Liege 1 (final, European Cup Winners' Cup)
- 1982: Belgium 1 - Argentina 0 (opening match, 1982 World Cup)
- 1989: Milan 4 - Steaua Bucureşti 0 (final, European Cup)
- 1992: Spain 3 - Poland 2 (final, 1992 Olympics)
- 1999: Manchester United 2 - Bayern Munich 1 (final, Champions League)
| Location |
Barcelona, Spain |
| Coordinates |
 41°22′51.20″N 2°7′22.19″E / 41.3808889°N 2.1228306°E / 41.3808889; 2.1228306Coordinates: 41°22′51.20″N 2°7′22.19″E / 41.3808889°N 2.1228306°E / 41.3808889; 2.1228306 |
| Broke ground |
March 28, 1954 |
| Opened |
September 24, 1957 |
| Owner |
FC Barcelona |
| Operator |
FC Barcelona |
| Construction cost |
288 billion pesetas or 1,731 million Euro |
| Architect |
Francesc Mitjans i Miró
Josep Soteras
Philipe Pedro Agnew |
| Capacity |
98,772 |
| Field dimensions |
105 metres (115 yd) x 68 metres (74 yd)[1] |
| Tenants |
| FC Barcelona (1957–present) |
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