FC Barcelona and City Council officially confirm transfer to Montjuïc in the 2023-24 season

FC Barcelona's men's team will be playing at the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium in the 2023-2024 season. This Tuesday, the agreement was presented as reached by the club and Barcelona City Council through the company Barcelona de Serveis Municipals (B:SM), manager of the ground the team will be using while construction work is being done on the Camp Nou.

Barça president Joan Laporta, accompanied by institutional vice-president Elena Fort and the manager of Espai Barça, Jordi Llauradó, detailed the terms of the agreement together with the first deputy mayor and president of B:SM, Jaume Collboni, at an event held in front of the main façade of the Olympic Stadium, the iconic setting of the 1992 Games.

Barça can use the stadium between August 2023 and May 2024, and the ground will have a seating capacity of around 55,000 people. The club holds the right to use the facility on match days and for pre- and post- match preparations. FC Barcelona will also be able to use the stadium on a regular basis for training and other sporting events, including the needs of the women's team, which this season played the quarter-finals and semi-finals of the Champions League at the Camp Nou.

Changes to the ground

The agreed transfer of use includes not just the pitch and terraces but also other auxiliary spaces such as the press box, changing rooms and indoor parking areas, among others. At the moment, the club's technical services are assessing what adaptations will need to be made to the facilities to meet the needs of the various competitions that the team plays in. These investments will be paid by FC Barcelona. The club, as President Laporta has acknowledged, estimates that the transfer to Montjuïc will cost between 15 and 20 million euros.

In order to make it easier for fans to get to the Olympic Stadium, the City Council and FC Barcelona are devising a mobility plan to improve public transport and sustainable mobility, and have designed extraordinary maintenance and security services to ensure the least possible impact on the mountain. These items are expected to cost 7.2 million euros, 64% of which will be borne by Barça, and the remaining 36% by the City Council. The municipal contribution will be for investments that will become a permanent part of the local infrastructure.

Funicular, shuttles and metro

The Funicular train service will be intensified, bus shuttles will be run from public transport hubs (Plaça Espanya, L9 and Sants Station) to the Olympic Stadium and supporters clubs will be able to arrive on their own buses. If necessary, the metro service will also be increased on some match days. In order to promote sustainable mobility, a bike lane will also be created between Plaça Espanya and Miramar and there will be three new Bicing stations for rented bicycles.

All expenses arising from expanded public transport will be borne by FC Barcelona, ​​as will those of the extraordinary maintenance and security services.

The lighting along the main walking routes will be improved at match times, and pedestrian walkways will be set up between public transport networks and the stadium.

Coexistence with the Olympic Ring

The City Council, B:SM and FC Barcelona have worked to ensure that the club’s activity is compatible with the other cultural, sporting and civic uses of the district known as the Olympic Ring and other facilities on Montjuïc mountain. In all cases, care will be taken to ensure that matches do not coincide or interfere with any other event scheduled at the Palau Sant Jordi or the Esplanada Olímpica.

Statement by president Joan Laporta

"FC Barcelona will play at this stadium in the 23/24 season, while work is being done on the Espai Barça, for which the City Council recently granted the license."

"At Barça we are grateful to the city for helping us so much with the negotiations."

"FC Barcelona is committed to adapting the Olympic facilities and ensuring the comfort of our members and fans on match day. We will modernise various services and auxiliary spaces such as the press room, changing rooms and the indoor parking area."

"We estimate that the transfer to Montjuïc will cost Barça between 15-20 million euros."

"We are talking about the iconic venue of the Barcelona Olympics. We are talking about an international symbol of the city and we would like our season here, 2023-24, to make this stadium the epicentre of Barça supporters, shared with this great city that is Barcelona.”

"All members and season ticket holders who want to come to the stadium will be able to do so by means of a democratic system on a rotation basis so that as many people as possible get the chance to be here at the Olympic Stadium.”

Statement by deputy mayor Jaume Collboni

"We are honoured to welcome FC Barcelona. I don't think there is any better way to celebrate this 30th anniversary of the Olympic Games than this gesture of support and collaboration between the city and FC Barcelona. Thirty years in which it has been shown, among other things, that our city was able to manage the Olympic legacy in an excellent manner, making these spaces useful for the city and especially for culture and sport. This is the best possible place for FC Barcelona to spend a season. And they will be doing so inspired by the Olympic values.”

"The Espai Barça is one of the most important transformations that will happen in the city of Barcelona in the coming years. It will benefit the club but also the local residents."