The Catalan club suffered an organizational setback ahead of the second leg of the Spanish Cup semifinals. The city council refused to allow the club to activate phase 1C of the stadium’s reconstruction. This deprived Pep Guardiola’s team of the powerful support of 17,000 additional fans.
Barcelona will not be able to count on additional support from the stands in the second leg of the Spanish Cup semifinal against Atlético. The city authorities did not allow Phase 1C of the Camp Nou reconstruction to be activated, which would have increased the arena’s capacity to 62,000. This information was reported by Marca.
The club had planned to open an additional 17,000 seats to create the most powerful atmosphere possible for a match in which they need to overcome a 4-0 deficit following their loss to Atlético. However, they were unable to obtain permission.
Initially, the Catalans had hoped to launch Phase 1C before the match against Levante, but that proved impossible. A similar situation occurred before the game against Villarreal, and their last hope was tied to the match against Atlético. On Wednesday, the final decision was made: there will be no increase in capacity.
Thus, around 45,000 spectators will fill the stands at Camp Nou. This is the arena’s capacity since the return of official matches after reconstruction began. Had phase 1C been activated, the club would have been able to open the Gol Nord sector, which remains closed to the public.
The next question is when the city council will allow the next stage. The next home game is on March 15 against Sevilla, but elections are also on that day. The match on March 18 will be even more crucial: the second leg of the Champions League round of 16. The Catalans’ opponent could be Newcastle or PSG.