Barcelona looking for a new stadium to play UCL knockout football as current stadium and Camp Nou unlikely to be available: Reports

Barcelona are reportedly looking for a new stadium to play their UEFA Champions League knockout-stage games. Their current stadium Montjuic and their home ground, Spotify Camp Nou, are expected to be unavailable at that time.

The Catalan giants' home ground Camp Nou shut their doors for renovation in May 2023. The last game played in the stadium was Barcelona's 3-0 win over Mallorca in LaLiga as they eventually went on to claim the league title in the 2022-23 season.

Over 88,000 fans were present to bid farewell to the historic ground, which first opened in 1957. The Nou Camp was originally set to reopen in 18 months but as of now, no specific timeline for its reopening is clear.

According to reports by MARCA, Barcelona are looking for back-up stadiums to play their Champions League knockout-stage games. The club's current stadium, Estadi Lluis Companys a.k.a Montjuic is expected to be unavailable in February due to city council requirements.

Moreover, their home ground, Spotify Camp Nou will reportedly not be ready to reopen by February.

The aforementioned report suggests some of the alternatives explored by Barca including Cornea El Prat (Espanyol's home stadium), Mestalla (Valencia's home ground) and the Wanda Metropolitano (Atletico Madrid's home ground).

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Barcelona's return to the Camp Nou is set to be delayed until next season: Reports

Camp Nou - Source: Getty

According to ESPN, Barcelona have begun working internally on the possibility of playing outside of the Spotify Camp Nou until next season (2025-26). President Joan Laporta had initially planned to return to the stadium by March 2025 but the case seems unlikely owing to construction delays.

The aforementioned report suggests that the unforeseen delay is due to the extra work required to fix the second tier of the stadium. Moreover, it will take up to three months to properly install the pitch to a level suitable for high-class football.

The playing surface is currently still under renovation, which means work for installation of the pitch is yet to begin.

Laporta was reportedly eyeing a March 2025 return as Barcelona will not be allowed to change their venue for home games after they've played one UCL knockout home fixture. They can only shift venues between the league and knockout stages. However, such regulations do not apply to LaLiga fixtures.

As of now, the plan is to return to Camp Nou as soon as possible with around 60,000 capacity as work continues. The stadium is expected to be refurnished completely by the summer of 2026 with a capacity increased to 105,000 - the largest in Europe.

Meanwhile, Barca have reportedly increased their lease on the Montjuic stadium until March 2025.