Camp Nou roof ring complete: 123 steel sections, reopening in Jan 2028

📰 The Camp Nou rebuild has passed a major milestone with the steel ring that will carry the roof now complete. 📌 Key points 🏗️ The final section of the 360-degree steel compression ring is in place. 🔩 The ring is made up of 123 steel sections weighing 20 tonnes each. 🏛️ It rests on 46 pillars weighing 28 tonnes each. ☀️ The finished roof will cover 48,000 sq m, including 18,000 sq m of solar panels. 📅 Barça are targeting a January 2028 reopening with around 95,000 seats. 📝 What happened 🏗️ Barca Blaugranes, citing Sport, reported that construction crews have installed the last section of the 360-degree steel compression ring above Camp Nou's third tier. The ring is the frame from which the whole new roof will hang. 🔩 It consists of 123 hollow steel box sections, each weighing 20 tonnes. Large cranes lifted them onto 46 pillars of 28 tonnes each, which were completed over the summer. 🚲 The design works like a bicycle wheel. Steel cables run from the outer ring to an inner ring to support the roof, so there will be no columns inside the stadium blocking supporters' views. ⏳ Next comes connecting and tensioning the cables, then the "big lift" of the roof structure. According to the reports, that will happen after this season ends, and Barça are expected to return to the Olympic Stadium on Montjuïc for four to six months while it takes place. 📊 By the numbers • Steel ring: 123 sections, 20 tonnes each • 46 pillars, 28 tonnes each • Roof: 48,000 sq m (18,000 sq m of solar panels) • Reopening target: January 2028, around 95,000 seats (105,000 eventually) 🔭 Why it matters Once complete, it will be one of the largest tensile roofs in the world. Barça recently approved €510 million in new financing, €300 million of which goes on the stadium works. Camp Nou currently holds around 62,000 and should rise to about 70,000 this season as new VIP boxes open. Barcelona host Getafe at Camp Nou in LaLiga on 10 October.