INCREDIBLE new pictures of one of football’s most iconic stadiums have been released amid a £1.25BILLION renovation.
Barcelona’s Nou Camp has been undergoing a huge makeover for over a year now and the club has now released new images of what the ground is set to look like.
The Spanish giants moved out of the stadium in May 2023, beginning the process of a major overhaul of the 67-year-old arena.
Barca have been temporarily housed in the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium during the renovation.
And now the European heavyweights seem closer than ever to returning to their historic home after the club released new images of the stadium and a statement announcing their intentions to move back into the ground THIS SEASON.
The stadium looks unrecognisable from its former self in the computer generated mock-ups released by the club.
The ground is set to have the largest roof in Europe, an aerial viewing platform and a number of new bars and VIP areas.
While the stadium’s capacity is also being increased from 99,354 to an impressive 105,000.
The club have taken off the entire top tier of the stadium as they rebuild the third tier to increase the capacity of the iconic ground.
Barcelona vice-president Elena Fort has revealed that the club intends on returning to the stadium this season, but have scrapped original plans to be inside the ground by the club’s 125th anniversary in November.
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She said: “There are no exact dates to return to the stadium. We can’t say right now, but we are on the correct path.
“The city council knows our full plan. We are following all the safety protocols and we’ve received the green light from several institutions.
“Now we’ll need to make rapid work to get the license back to reopening the stadium and execute everything.”
Despite plans to return to the Nou Camp this season, it’s expected that Barcelona will be playing in front of a 60 per cent capacity at that time.
The full renovation isn’t due to be completed until 2026.
The modernised arena – which is set to be sponsored by Spotify – will have three huge screens hanging over the pitch for fans to rewatch the action.
The concourse and the press facilities are among the other areas to be modernised.
The stadium will reportedly also use green energy sources through 18,000m2 of solar panels, producing its own energy and generating zero CO2 emissions.
While new images show an incredible light display on the outside of the ground, putting out Barcelona’s famous colours.
