Barcelona will play their home games at the city's Olympic Stadium during the 2023-24 campaign as redevelopment of Camp Nou gathers pace.
Modernization work at Barcelona's home ground will start at the end of this season, it was confirmed on Thursday, with Barcelona's city council giving the green light.
Initial work will focus on the first and second tiers of the stadium, along with exterior urbanization and technology improvements.
Demolition of the third tier will take place a year later, ensuring Barca can operate at almost full capacity for their fixtures next season.
Club president Joan Laporta had stated that uncertainties over cost and availability of materials due to the war in Ukraine must be taken into consideration when planning the project, so Barca have opted to minimize risks and protect next season's revenue by delaying work on the third tier.
With the majority of the redevelopment taking place during the 2023-24 campaign, the Blaugrana will play home matches in Montjuic rather than at Camp Nou, relocating to the stadium that was the centrepiece of the 1992 Olympic Games. The Olympic Stadium can house around 60,000 spectators.
Reduced capacity
Barca will be able to play at Camp Nou in the 2024-25 season, but capacity will be reduced by around 50 per cent. The building project is due to be completed during the 2025-26 campaign.
Barcelona said in a statement: "The club has the funding to invest in this work and is continuing its efforts to ensure the best general financing operation for the Espai Barca project for an amount that will never be any more than €1.5 billion ($1.6 billion), as approved by a large majority at last December's referendum, and further ratified by the delegate members at the assembly held on 17 and 23 October."
Among the planned works is the roofing of the entire stadium with a drop-down cover equipped with solar panels and equipping it with a giant 360-degree interior screen. The Catalan club expects the capacity of the stadium to be 105,000 people once the work is completed.
