Barcelona to return to Camp Nou with partial capacity for Spanish league game against Athletic

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BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona will be back at the Camp Nou for its Spanish league match against Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.

The club announced Monday that 45,401 will be allowed at the venue for the team's first match back since renovation began in 2023. The new Camp Nou will ultimately hold 105,000 fans.

Barcelona said it also hopes to play its Champions League match against Eintracht Frankfurt on Dec. 9 at the revamped stadium.

The return with partial capacity will be possible after the club secured some of the permits it needed to welcome fans at the venue again.

More than 20,000 people paid to watch the team practice at the Camp Nou on Nov. 7.

Work began on upgrading the stadium in June 2023 to expand capacity in Europe’s largest soccer venue that previously stood at 99,000. The highly indebted club secured 1.45 billion euros (then $1.6 billion) from multiple investors to undertake the remodeling project.

The club hopes that the return to Camp Nou will boost matchday sales and merchandising opportunities.

Barcelona had originally planned to be back playing at the venue as early as November 2024 to coincide with the club’s 125th anniversary, but that deadline has been repeatedly pushed back. The team has played at the municipally owned 55,000-seat Olympic Stadium since the start of the 2023-24 season.

Another delay this summer led to the club having to scramble and hold a Spanish league game at the 6,000-seat stadium located on its training grounds on the outskirts of the city in September.

Barcelona trails league leader Real Madrid by three points after 12 matches. Madrid visits Elche on Sunday.

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