Camp Nou

Camp Nou

UEFA
Location	Barcelona, Spain
Coordinates	41°22′51.20″N 2°7′22.19″E
Owner	FC Barcelona
Operator	FC Barcelona
Capacity	98,772
Field size	105 metres (115 yd) x 68 metres (74 yd)
Construction
Broke ground	March 28, 1954
Opened	September 24, 1957
Construction cost	288 billion pesetas or 1,731 million Euro
Architect	Francesc Mitjans i Miró Josep Soteras Philipe Pedro Agnew
Tenants
FC Barcelona (1957–present)

The Camp Nou ("new field", Catalan pronunciation: [kam ˈnɔw]), often erroneously called the "Nou Camp" (in both Spanish and English) is a football stadium in Barcelona, Spain. The stadium has been the home of FC Barcelona since its construction in 1957. It is a UEFA 5-star rated stadium, and has hosted numerous international matches at senior level, and UEFA Champions League finals, the most recent being in 1999. It has a capacity of 98,772, making it the largest stadium in Europe, and the eleventh largest in the world. Its official name was Estadi del FC Barcelona (FC Barcelona Stadium) until 2000, when the club membership voted to change the official name to the popular nickname, Camp Nou.

Across Camp Nou is the Palau Blaugrana, the stadium for indoor sports and adjacent is the Ice Rink, the stadium for ice-based sports. Just behind the complex is the Mini Estadi, the stadium where the FC Barcelona Atlètic plays its games.

History

By the early 1950s, Barcelona had outgrown its old stadium, Camp de Les Corts which had held 60,000 supporters. The Camp Nou, built between 1954 and 1957, was designed by architects Francesc Mitjans-Miró, Lorenzo García Barbon and Josep Soteras Mauri. FC Barcelona won their first game at Camp Nou in impressive fashion, a 4-2 victory against Legia Warsaw, with Eulogio Martínez scoring the first goal at the new stadium. Over 90,000 fans were present at this momentous occasion.

The stadium capacity has varied, opening at 93,053, but growing to 105,000 for the 1982 FIFA World Cup. With the outlawing of standing sections at the stadium in the late 1990s, its capacity settled to just below 99,000.

The outside of the Camp Nou

File:Camp Nou - Maqueta (Norman Foster).jpg

The future Camp Nou

One of the stands displaying Barcelona's motto, Més que un club meaning More than a club.

Exterior

The facilities include a memorabilia shop, mini pitches for training matches, and a chapel for players. The stadium also houses the most visited museum in Catalonia, El Museu del Barça, which receives about 1,200,000 visits a year. The museum was inaugurated in 1984 under the presidency of Josep Lluís Nuñez. The museum shows 1,420 pieces of FC Barcelona's history, of which 420 are trophies. The inauguration ceremony of the 1982 World Cup was held on June 13. In front of a 100,000-strong crowd, Belgium beat Argentina 1-0.

Camp Nou also hosted musical performances and other non-football events. Artists who have performed at the stadium include:

• Pink Floyd
• Michael Jackson
• U2
• Bruce Springsteen
• Frank Sinatra
• Julio Iglesias
• Sting, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Youssou N'Dour, Tracy Chapman, Peter Gabriel and El Último de la Fila at the Amnesty International's Concert for Human Rights
• The Three Tenors: José Carreras, Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti
• José Carreras
• Montserrat Caballé
• Lluís Llach

Pope John Paul II celebrated mass with a congregation of over 120,000 at Camp Nou on November 17, 1982.

Future

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the stadium, the club issued an international tender to re-model the stadium. The objective was to turn the stadium into an integrated and highly visible urban environment. The club does not seek a substantial increase in seating capacity, but the plan must accommodate a minimum of 50% of seats to be under cover.

On September 18, 2007, British architect Norman Foster and his company were selected to "restructure" the Camp Nou. The plans include an extra 10,000 seats to be added and the estimated cost is €250 million.

The grandstand of the Camp Nou during a match

Recent and historical significant matches

• 1964: Real Zaragoza 2 - Valencia 1 (final, Inter-Cities Fairs Cup)
• 1972: Rangers 3 - Dynamo Moscow 2 (final, European Cup Winners' Cup)
• 1982: Barcelona 2 - Standard Liege 1 (final, European Cup Winners' Cup)
• 1982: Belgium 1 - Argentina 0 (opening match, 1982 World Cup)
• 1989: Milan 4 - Steaua Bucureşti 0 (final, European Cup)
• 1992: Spain 3 - Poland 2 (final, 1992 Olympics)
• 1999: Manchester United 2 - Bayern Munich 1 (final, Champions League)

External links

• Camp Nou at StadiumZone, go to: UEFA > Spain > Camp Nou
• FC Barcelona Official website - Camp Nou page
• FC Barcelona Official website - FC Barcelona Information page
• Watch Camp Nou in 3D by using Google Earth. Model made by Stefan Larsson
• Camp Nou collection website - Camp Nou 50 years Information page
• Camp Nou, 24-IX-1957
• Information about the Museum of the FC Barcelona