The Camp Nou remodeling works continue
The works for the remodeling of the Camp Nou continue with the objective of the Club to return from exile in Montjuïc after the Christmas break, once it is assumed that the first planned milestone, return in November coinciding with the date of the 125th anniversary of FC Barcelona (November 29) is already completely unacceptable.
But the goal of returning after the Christmas break can also be altered by the brake on the constructive pace that the works will suffer after the neighbors have forced this Tuesday the withdrawal of the pact of night hours that allowed work until midnight extended last April.
The City Council attends to residents’ complaints
As reported by Betevé, four neighborhood associations denounced several breaches by those responsible for the works and have made their dissatisfaction with the operation of the agreement that was reached a few months ago very clear.
The decision to withdraw the pact was made in a meeting to monitor the operation of the works between FC Barcelona and the district of Les Corts of Barcelona City Council, after listening to neighborhood complaints.
In particular, she has been the coordinator of Associations of Neighbors of the Courts, with the refusal to extend the pact by four associations, which have expressed their disagreement, and that the Association of Neighbors of Camp Nou, the Association of Neighbors of Sant Ramon Nonat, the Association of Residents of Racó de les Corts and the Association of Neighbors of Avinguda de Chile.
According to these entities, the Club is skipping the time restrictions, which they have demonstrated by providing several videos recorded on the same Monday, in which the trucks are seen entering the quarry enabled at the Ministadium later than the agreed time.
Neighbors complain that the hum and lighting of the cranes until late at night disturbs their rest.
Barça could delay the return
The agreement to be able to work until midnight came about at the request of FC Barcelona, with the permission of the Barcelona City Council, in order to speed up the pace of the works and be able to achieve the goal of returning to the stadium , already remodeled, on Sunday, December 15.
The Club set this first objective of the return of fans and members to the Camp Nou in one of the last days before the Christmas break, with an occupation close to 60% of the total capacity, expected to be 105,000 seats.
In other words, up to 63,000 fans could attend.
But that date was already ruled out, and now, with this new brake on the pace of the works, it is not likely that the return to the League matches can be finalized before 2025.
It should be remembered that Barça could play League matches at the Spotify Camp Nou after the Christmas break, but, on the other hand, they will not be able to play the Champions League until February, given that the regulations of the competition do not allow the change of stadium until after the group stage.
Agreement extended month to month
It must be remembered that the agreement to be able to work until late at night had to be extended month by month.
April was passed without problems, and it was extended to the month of May, but the neighbors believe that the breaches have now been too flagrant, and that is why they have decided not to extend the pact.
The district of Les Corts has decided not to fine Barça for these infractions, although residents complain that the fines are ridiculous if you take into account the size and numbers of this work.
In September 2023, the Barcelona City Council issued two fines against Barça for non-compliance with the work schedules, after an inspection of the works that detected unauthorized activity outside the hours (between midnight and one in the morning).
For this reason, the Guardia Urbana processed two sanctions that reached a maximum of 300 euros each.
You can’t work every Saturday either
Other changes have also resulted from this Tuesday’s meeting and from this week it will not be possible to work every Saturday either, as had been done in the last two months.
In this case, the ban will be partial, and for the time being, work will only be allowed on the first two Saturdays in June, but only until 6 p.m.
A new meeting between the parties is scheduled for next June 20.
The club will have to make an effort to respect the agreements on weekday schedules and if so, the neighboring organizations are willing to allow work on Saturdays, but only every 15 days, with schedules from 10 a.m. to eight in the evening, and between eight and 10 at night, but without making noise that disturbs the neighbors.
