The supporters' groups, the heart and soul of the Palau
More than 7,500 fans, half a century of history and an Olympic Games. The Palau Blaugrana is one of the most significant facilities in the Barça universe. It is in its seats and stands that the magic is born thanks to the its unique architecture yet it is also thanks to the role played by the supporters' groups, the beating heart of the teams due to their support, passion and spirit, even at the most difficult of moments.
This is how the Palau Blaugrana's supporters' groups came about. Each one wished to briefly explain what the Palau Blaugrana means to them:
PB MERITXELL
With basketball in their veins, the group came about on the night of 24 April, 1997. just a few hours after Barça's 73-58 defeat in the Final Four against Olympiacos in the PalaLottomatica in Rome.
"For us the Palau Blaugrana is much more than a sporting venue. It is like a family home, your parents' house, the place where you can feel the warmth and shelter of the people who like you. suffer and enjoy, laugh and cry for the colours and the badge. The Palau Blaugrana is an emblematic place where the Club won their first 11 European Cups. It is where the blaugrana and passion and feeling really makes the phrase 'more than a club' come alive.
EL RACÓ
On 21 November 1998 one the youngest supporters' club at the Palau was born, the PB El Racó. Eight basketball fans who normally watch the Barça basketball matches in the right hand corner at the Palau Blaugrana decided to set up a fans' group and they organised a competition amongst the first members to choose their badge.
"The Palau is a legendary place for many Barça fans, a place where blaugrana feeling reach their highest expression. Entering the Palau and being impressed by its dome and it has an impact as it is a famous dome, unique to the Palau. One day it will not be there, as in life change comes around but there will never be a substitute. It is old but it is our Palau. At the moment it is still standing and battling on. Always up right, 50 years right in the thick of things."
DRACS 1991 S.P.B.
It is the first supporters' group that appeared at the Palau Blaugrana and the biggest and noisiest. It was created on 6 January 1991, launched by a group of Barça fans strongly committed to the club. Big fans of the professional sports' teams and also the football team, the group came about during a game between Barça and Logroñés at Camp Nou. This group, with more than 30 years of history behind it, with the surname Supporters, reject violence and prioritise direct contact with the athletes.
"Palau Blaugrana is our home and our passion, where we share our dreams. Since we were small we have fallen in love with their stands, the magic of its sound and the fighting spirit of this inhabitants. It's where we feel the fans and team as one, where we experience the games, where we feel most committed and loyal as Barça fans, where we keep building the future. Our FC Barcelona."
SANG CULÉ COR CATALÀ
Made official in 2001, the name reflects their commitment to tradition and Catalan society. For the members of Sang Culé Cor Català, belonging to the group is a way of life. They use their support to fight against intolerances, xenophobia, racism, sexism and violence and they consider sport to be the best way to demonstrate their social beliefs. They describe themselves as a "Barça group/a Palau supporters' group, independent and left leaning," and they support all the professional sections.
"The Palau is our home, an emblematic place that lives and breathes Barça in all four corners, a place for friends to meet and where everybody knows each other. It's for that reason that there is a different atmosphere, one that makes it 'more than a club', Barça forever."