For any football lovers visiting the city, the legendary FC Barcelona stadium is a must-see attraction. It is one of the greatest football clubs in the world has seen icon players such as Kubala, Cruyff, Romário, Rivaldo, Ronaldhino Gaúcho and Messi. According to its slogan, Barca is “more than just a club”.So, to enrich your visit to Camp Nou, here are 10 interesting facts about this football temple.
10 Interesting facts about the Camp Nou in Barcelona
- The first Barcelona stadium was located close to the current arena and was always too small for the number of fans who wanted to see players suchLásló Kubala, the first FC Barcelona star of the 1950s.
- Supporters of FC Barcelona are called “culés”, coming from the word for bum in Catalan. According to legend, from outside the old Les Corts stadium, all that could be seen of the spectators in the stands was their backsides!
- The Camp Nou is currently the largest stadium in Europe with a 98,000-seater capacity.
- Barcelona´s Camp Nou was once the same size as the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and the largest stadium in the world with capacity for 120, 000 spectators. It has since been reduced in size for security reasons.
- The roof of the stadium inhibits the growth of grass on the pitch and needs to be regularly changed.
- A renovation project for the home of FC Barcelona was initiated by the architect Norman Foster in order to increase its capacity to 103, 000 seats and to modernize the amenities and structure. A glass roof was added to allow for more sunlight.
- The current renovation project for the Camp Nou has an estimated building cost of €300 million.
- Camp Nou means “new stadium” in Catalan.
- The first official match took place in the Camp Nou on the 6th October 1957 against Real Jaén. The result was a win for FC Barcelona with 6 goals to 1.
- The stadium hosted the Olympic Games in 1992 and was notably where Spain beat Poland with 3 goals to 2.
