Barcelona proposes expanding Camp Nou to 105,000

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona will ask club members to approve remodeling and enlarging Camp Nou rather than construct a new stadium.

Barcelona club president Sandro Rosell says the club will hold a referendum for its members on April 5 or 6, coinciding with a home game.

Built in 1957 and enlarged in 1982, Camp Nou already has Europe’s highest capacity at 98,000. The plan is to increase that to 105,000.

A new first tier would be constructed that is steeper in an effort to improve sightlines, and a club level between the first and second tiers would increase luxury seat capacity by 3,500 to 5,700. The other side of the third tier would be completed.

The proposal also includes an indoor arena of 10,000-12,000 for Barcelona’s basketball, handball and roller hockey teams to be built on the site of the current stadium for the Barcelona B soccer team, which would move its games to the club’s training facility.

Barcelona calculates the cost at 600 million euros ($812 million). Construction would last from 2017-21, and the team would play in the stadium during construction with interior work done during the offseason.