CAMP NOU

Camp Nou is a football stadium in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, which has been the home of Futbol Club Barcelona since 1957.

The Camp Nou holds 99,354 people, and thus is the largest stadium in Europe and the 4th largest association football stadium in the world in terms of capacity. It has hosted numerous international matches at a senior level, including two UEFA Champions League finals and the football competition at the 1992 Summer Olympics.

ConstructionThe construction of Camp Nou started on 28 March 1954 as Barcelona's previous stadium, Camp de Les Corts, had no room for expansion. Although originally planned to be called Estadi del FC Barcelona, the more popular name Camp Nou was used. The June 1950 signing of László Kubala, regarded as one of Barcelona's greatest players, provided further impetus to the construction of a larger stadium.

Construction of Camp Nou began on 28 March 1954 before a crowd of 60,000 Barça fans. The civil governor of Barcelona, Felipe Acedo Colunga, presided at the laying in place of the first stone, with a blessing from the Archbishop of Barcelona, Gregorio Modrego. Construction took three years, going 336% over budget for a final cost of 288 million pesetas. The stadium was officially opened on 24 September 1957. Handel's Messiah was performed at the opening of the stadium. Barcelona then defeated Legia Warsaw 4-2 in a friendly match.

The architects were a team made up of Francesc Mitjans, Josep Soteras, and Lorenzo García-Barbón

Early yearsIn May 1972, Camp Nou hosted its first European Cup Winners' Cup final between Rangers and Dynamo Moscow. Rangers won the match with a score of 3–2. The 1970s marked a turning point for Barcelona with the signing of a new player, Johan Cruyff, in 1973. Electronic scoreboards were installed in the stadium two years later.

One of the stands displaying Barcelona's motto, Més que un club, meaning "More than a club".The stadium underwent an expansion in 1980, in anticipation of the 1982 FIFA World Cup, which added boxes, VIP lounges, a new press area, new markers and an enhanced seating capacity of 80,000.

Camp Nou was one of several stadiums used throughout the 1982 World Cup, hosting the inauguration ceremony on 13 June. Before a 121,749-person crowd, Belgium upset the defending champions Argentina 1–0 in the match that followed.

DevelopmentFC Barcelona against Bayern Munich at the stadium in the 2013 UEFA Champions LeagueThe stadium’s capacity has varied greatly over the years, opening at 106,146, but growing to 121,749 for the 1982 FIFA World Cup.

Apart from hosting FC Barcelona, Camp Nou is home turf to the Catalan national team, their latest match as of August 2010 being a 4–2 win over Argentina. The stadium is frequently used for other football events. The European Cup final between Milan and Steaua Bucureşti was held on 24 May 1989, with the Italian club winning 4–0 Camp Nou hosted part of the football competition, including the final, in the 1992 Summer Olympics. In preparation for these Games, two additional tiers of seating were installed over the previous roof-line.

Camp Nou underwent little change after 1982, except for the opening of the club museum in 1984. The stadium underwent a facelift in 1993–94, in which the pitch was lowered by 2.5 m (8 ft), the security gap that separated the lawn from the galleries was removed, and standing room was eliminated in favor of individual seating. A new press box, renovation of the presidential grandstand and boxes, new parking under the main grandstand, and new lighting and sound systems were completed in time for the 1998–99 season. In 1999 the UEFA outlawed standing sections in stadiums, and Camp Nou’s capacity settled to its current level. The stadium hosted the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final later that year where Manchester United played Bayern Munich. United won 2–1, coming back from 0–1 down in injury time.

The FC Barcelona museum was inaugurated on 24 September 1984 under the presidency of Josep Lluís Nuñez. In 2000 the museum was renamed President Nuñez museum under the presidency of his successor, Joan Gaspart. On 15 June 2010 the museum was reopened after a long restructuring.

The restructuring saw the museum split in three separate sections with a 3D cinema, audiovisual touch-screen, and information on the history of FC Barcelona. The first section includes a collection of photos, documents and trophies detailing the club's history on an interactive glass wall, allowing visitors to touch the screens and see information wall. The glass wall, equipped with laser technology, allows the exhibition of video, images and music through user-feedback. The second section is a private art collection on permanent display at the museum which exhibits works by local artists as Dalí, Miró and Tàpies. In the third section is the Futbolart Collection displays various football memorabilia from throughout the history of the club including a trophy-room with every trophy, or a replica thereof, that the club has ever won.

One of the items at display in the Futbolart Collection is the boots with which Ronald Koeman scored the winning goal in the 1992 European Cup Final, which he did in the 111th minute against Sampdoria, 21 minutes into extra time, securing Barcelona's first European trophy.

The museum occupies 3,500 square meters and attracts 1.2 million visitors a year, ranking it second to the Museu Picasso, which attracts 1.3 million visitors, as the most visited museum in the city of Barcelona.

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