FANS have been left devastated after footage of one of the most famous stadiums on the planet being demolished was released.
Barcelona announced in July 2022 they would play their 2023/24 home matches at the Olympic Stadium.
Twitter / @FCBarcelonaThe Nou Camp has been left in a pile of rubble[/caption]
Twitter / @FCBarcelonaA huge crane now sits on the pitch, which is now stone[/caption]
Twitter / @FCBarcelonaThe Nou Camp is undergoing a huge £1.25 billion renovation[/caption]
Twitter / @FCBarcelonaPiles of seats now fill the derelict stands of the famous ground[/caption]
And that was due to the Spanish giants pressing ahead with plans to modernise their iconic Nou Camp home.
The project – set to cost a cool £1.25billion – is aiming to finish the refurbishment of the ground in time for the start of the 2025/26 season.
The development will see the capacity expanded from 99,354 seats to 105,000, increasing its gap as the largest football ground in Europe – with second place Wembley having a 90,000 capacity.
It will also see a roof added alongside a stadium rename in line with the club’s £237m sponsorship deal with Spotify.
Xavi’s Barcelona, who began their LaLiga title defence with a goalless draw at Getafe last week, will play their first “home” game of the campaign against Cadiz on Sunday.
Fortunately, the ground – which hosted the 1992 summer Olympic and Paralympic games – is only a short hop across the city and has a capacity of 55,926.
But the club shared video footage of the new Nou Camp “under construction” this week – and it showed the legendary arena looking like a complete rubbish dump.
The stadium, which first opened in 1957 and held a record 120,000 capacity crowd in 1986, now has diggers in tearing up the stands with the pitch already reduced to stone and rubble.
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A huge crane is at the centre of it, with piles of seats littered all around it as the building work kicks into gear.
But the footage left some supporters absolutely gutted, with one tweeting in response: “This is actually a very sad sight to see.”
Another tweeted: “Hate to see it like this, such a great place that holds many happy memories.”
A fellow fan commented: “Heartbreaking how they’re destroying one of football’s most iconic pieces of infrastructure into ANOTHER boring looking dome. Such a shame.”
While another said: “All the history just being demolished.”
As another added: “This makes me sad. One of the cathedrals of football being stripped to make it more suited for modern football.”
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Twitter / @FCBarcelonaThe Nou Camp is expected to be completed in time for the 2025/26 campaign[/caption]
APFans have been left devastated at the footage of the demolished Nou Camp[/caption]
Barcelona’s Olympic Stadium will host the LaLiga giants during the refurbRex