It's been a busy summer for the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona. Coldplay sold out four dates at the 96-year-old stadium, with more than 200,000 tickets getting snapped up the first morning they went on sale. It was a similar story for two Bruce Springsteen shows and one Beyoncé concert, with over 100,000 people watching The Boss and 53,000 cramming in for the "Crazy in Love" singer.
On Sunday, it's Barça's turn to take centre stage, though the enthusiasm to watch LaLiga's defending champions at their temporary home is not quite on the same level.
Coach Xavi Hernandez expressed concerns about having to relocate, saying they will need supporters more than ever to help them avoid losing that feeling of home advantage -- "it won't be easy," he said at the end of last season -- but so far, there has been little response. As of Thursday, three days before they host Cadiz in their first home game of the new LaLiga campaign, there were still tickets available on all four sides of the stadium. They ranged in price from €79 to €169 for basic entry -- not including any of the various VIP packages still on sale -- although it should be said that August often sees people flee the city to holiday and escape the heat.
However, those statistics are mirrored in season ticket sales as supporters seem reluctant to follow the team from Spotify Camp Nou to Montjuic, the area of the city where the stadium is based.
Last season, Barça had 80,274 season ticket holders. They were given the chance to defer for a year while their iconic home undergoes a revamp ... and most took it, as just 17,552 of the 27,000 season tickets made available for the Olympic Stadium have been bought. Many have gone to club members, or socios, who were previously on the waiting list and hope this will be a chance to jump up the queue when the team move back to Camp Nou in late-2024.
Given the capacity in Montjuic is half of Camp Nou (roughly 50,000 vs. 100,000), there was always going to be a decrease, but the scale of the drop has been surprising. Barça had an average attendance of over 80,000 for home games last season. In addition to potential sporting repercussions, the decline also carries financial consequences as ticketing and match-day revenue plummets. Across town, Espanyol, recently relegated to the second division of Spanish football, have seen their season ticket count rise to more than 21,000.
Here's the backstory on how they ended up playing on the hill for a season, and what it might mean for their on-field performance and off-field financials.
Montjuic's rich history in the city
Work began knocking down parts of Camp Nou last year and, at the end of the season, Barca said goodbye to the ground they have called home since 1957 in order to accelerate the redevelopment process. When finished, the capacity will extend to over 100,000, and what the club boast will be a "state-of-the-art" stadium will have a roof covering all four stands (at the moment it is just one) and all the mod-cons associated with 21st-century stadia.
In the meantime, though, Barça are left "homeless" until around November 2024, when it's estimated they can return in time for their 125th anniversary, although work will still be ongoing and the capacity will be capped at around 70,000.
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Montjuic was always the obvious temporary home. It is part of the city's rich history, having been originally built in 1927 for the 1929 International Exposition. It was also used for an unsuccessful bid for the Olympic Games in 1936, and before the Olympics eventually arrived in 1992, the stadium received upgrades in 1989.
It has also played host to several Copa del Rey finals -- the most recent in 2004 -- and some historic Barcelona moments. Lionel Messi made the first of his 778 competitive appearances for the club there in 2004 as a visiting player against Espanyol, who played their home matches at the stadium between 1997 and 2009 before moving to their site in the Cornellà de Llobregat municipality.
It was also where Ronaldo made his debut for the club after joining from PSV Eindhoven in 1996. The Brazilian forward scored twice in a 5-2 Spanish Super Cup win over Atletico Madrid while the pitch at Camp Nou was being re-laid. A week later, Ronaldo netted another brace there in a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup game against AEK Larnaca. Barça, under Bobby Robson, would go on to win the trophy.
