Barcelona looking for solutions to potential season ticket crisis

Barcelona are polling members on the potential ticketing issues the club could face during a temporary move away from Camp Nou to the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Montjuic.

Renovation work on Camp Nou is underway, but a key stage or project will mean relocating across the city for the duration of the 2023/24 season.

Lluis Companys, named for the former Catalan president, was originally built in the 1920s and renovated to host the 1992 summer Olympics. It was also previously the home of city rivals Espanyol for 12 years between 1997 and 2009.

But its capacity is little over half that of Camp Nou and Barcelona currently have more season ticket holders than the stadium has seats.

As things stand, there are around 83,000 Barcelona season tickets, making the majority of the matchday attendance at Camp Nou. At Lluis Companys, capacity maxes out around 60,000.

Mundo Deportivo has reported that the club will offer the season ticket holders the chance to temporarily suspend their membership. The intention appears to be that there will be around 45,000 season tickets in 2023/24, still leaving room for public ticket sales game to game.

Before making any official decisions, Barcelona are set to ask members affected for their opinions. A questionnaire has been sent out, with fans asked at one point whether they would prefer a season ticket at Lluis Companys at a similar price to Camp Nou – but with no fixed seat guaranteed, the chance to buy individual match tickets with early access or discounts, or not to go to games at all.

Fans are also being asked about any preferences for attending games in different competitions on weekends or weekdays, as well as how they would plan to travel to Montjuic, which is not too far from Camp Nou, but lacks much in the way of parking facilities. Another option for the club would be to put free shuttle bus services from certain points in the city.