Story highlights
Barcelona is considering leaving its Nou Camp stadium
The Spanish team has played there since 1957
The Catalan club could build a 105,000-seater arena elsewhere in the city
The club's board is also considering increasing the Nou Camp's capacity to 105,000
Spanish football giant Barcelona could be set to leave its famous Nou Camp stadium for a 105,000-seater arena elsewhere in the city.
The Catalan club announced Monday it is exploring the possibility of relocating to a site currently owned by the University of Barcelona.
The Spanish champion’s current stadium has been its home since 1957 and is the largest in Europe.
Relocation is just one of two proposals the club’s board of directors is exploring. The other would see a roof fitted to the current stadium increasing its capacity from 98,772 to 105,000.
No definitive decision was made following Monday’s board meeting, with further talks planned for January.
“We’ve made advances, we have all the information and we’re in a position to make a decision,” board spokesman Toni Freixa told the club’s official website.
“They need to be viable from a technical perspective, urbanist and economic. We would never submit a project that would endanger the sustainability of the club.”
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While it boasts Europe’s largest capacity, the Nou Camp is significantly smaller than other global stadia.
The world’s largest sports ground is the Rungnado May Day Stadium in North Korea, which can house 150,000 spectators and is used by the country’s national football team.
India is home to the second largest, with the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata able to seat 120,000 fans for Indian football matches.
Six of the world’s 10 largest capacity stadia are in the U.S. and used by American football teams.
The University of Michigan’s stadium in Ann Arbor, affectionately known as “The Big House”, is the home stadium for the school’s Michigan Wolverines football program and it be packed with 109,901 gridiron fans.