Barcelona complete 360-degree Camp Nou roof ring in major rebuild milestone
FC Barcelona reached another major milestone in the reconstruction of Camp Nou on Monday, when construction crews installed the final section of the stadium's 360-degree steel compression ring — the structure from which the new roof will be raised.
How the ring works
The ring sits above the third tier and consists of 123 hollow steel box sections, each weighing 20 metric tons. Large cranes have lifted the sections onto 46 pillars weighing 28 tons each, which were completed over the summer.
The outer ring will carry the tension from steel cables running inward to an inner tension ring, allowing the roof to be supported without interior columns blocking spectators' views. The design is similar to a bicycle wheel, with the cables running between the outer and inner rings.
The finished roof will cover 48,000 square meters, making it one of the world's largest tensile roof structures, and will also include 18,000 square meters of solar panels.
What comes next — and another spell at Montjuic
The next step is connecting and tensioning the cables. After that comes the "big lift," when the roof structure will be raised into position. That operation is scheduled to begin after the current season and will force Hansi Flick's team back to the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium, Barcelona's temporary second home, for several months.
That plan chimes with reporting from September 23, when club treasurer and economic vice-president Ferran Olivé confirmed Barcelona would temporarily vacate the Spotify Camp Nou for the first half of next season to facilitate the roof installation, with ESPN reporting that the first half of the 2027-28 campaign will be played at the Olympic Stadium on Montjuic ahead of a planned permanent return in January 2028.
Official sources say the roof installation should take four to five months, although some experts believe it could take at least six.
Financing the finish line
The project is also putting pressure on the club's finances. Barcelona recently approved €510 million in new financing to help complete the Camp Nou project — a package that includes €300 million for the stadium works and €210 million in media-note financing.
Olivé told the club's most recent Assembly of Delegates that Barcelona's budget for next season will be based on a return to the Camp Nou in January 2028, with the plan for the stadium to reopen with roughly 95,000 spectators, close to its eventual capacity.
Capacity ramping up
The stadium currently holds about 62,000 fans and is expected to reach roughly 70,000 during the current season as new VIP boxes open between the second and third tiers. The third tier will remain closed until the team returns to Camp Nou after the roof has been installed, with the completed stadium expected to seat 105,000 people when work finishes in 2028.
Matchday revenue will rise as more fans are allowed to attend Camp Nou — either through expansions in the stadium's capacity or because the team will no longer be forced to play at the Olympic Stadium.