Camp de la Indústria

Camp de la Indústria

L'Escopidora
The Camp during a football match
Full name	Campo de la calle Indústria
Location	Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Coordinates	41.39°N 2.15°E / 41.39; 2.15
Capacity	6,000
Opened	March 14, 1909
Closed	1922 (1922)
Tenants
FC Barcelona (1909–1922)

Camp de la Indústria (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈkam də lə inˈdustɾiə]) or Campo de la calle Indústria was a multi-use stadium in Barcelona, Spain. It was initially used as the home venue of FC Barcelona, until the team moved to Camp de Les Corts in 1922. The capacity of the stadium was 6,000 spectators. The stadium is regarded as the main element that helped the club grow in the 1910s.

Overview

The stadium was opened during the presidency of Joan Gamper, who had returned as president of FC Barcelona one year before. The club had serious financial problems with significant debts by then, but Gamper got the help of local businessman to acquire the first field at Calle de la Industria. The ground was inaugurated on March 14, 1909, with a match v Catalá SC. The stadium, the first with grandstands, was considered the best in the city. With an initial capacity of 1,500 spectators, in 1916 it increased to 6,000. Paulino Alcántara, regarded as the first outstanding player of Barcelona, made his debut at Camp de la Indústria, with only 15 years old.

The successful campaigns of the team caused the stadium to be overwhelmed every time Barcelona played there, so much of its supporters had to sit over the edge of the wall, which earned them the nickname culés (in Spanish, an informal way to refer to buttocks). That nickname was so popular that the Barca fans proudly adopted it, calling themselves like that even when the club moved to its new stadium, Camp de Les Corts in 1922.