FC Barcelona move forward with the project to redevelop the Masia de Can Planes

For 32 years the old Masia de Can Planes was the place where generations of young Barça footballers dreamt of making it to Spotify Camp Nou, a stadium visible to them through their bedroom windows. Now, with the goal of giving the building knows as the Barça La Masia, the Club is working on its redevelopment and after opening up a tender process, the ABR Arquitectos Barcelona Rio study have been chose to oversee the project that will convert the premises into the new FC Barcelona social headquarters. 

The Modification of the Metropolitan General Plan (MPGM) states that the building has to return to its original state. As such, the Club will put forward a special plan that once approved, will see a request to Barcelona City Council for a permit for the building work. Taking into account the time frame, FC Barcelona predict that work at La Masia de Can Planes will begin in the third quarter of 2025. 

A building filled with blaugrana history 

La Masia de Can Planes was built in 1702 and was included in the land acquired by the Club in 1950 for the construction of Spotify Camp Nou. Initially, the venue was used as a work area for architects and builders. With the opening of the stadium in September 1957, the building was closed awaiting a new role. Later, after a decision by president Enric Llaudet, it housed the Club's offices between 1966 and 1978, when the social centre was moved to next to the Ice Rink. 

Quickly, the new board of directors under Josep Lluís Núñez found a new use for La Masia, turning into a residence for young players from outside the city of Barcelona who previously had been spread out in various hostels and houses making it difficult for them to be looked after as well as their families and the Club wished. Work to prepare the building for its new role was quickly completed and on 20 October 1979 the residency was officially opened. 

La Masia is one of the defining characteristics of FC Barcelona. Today, when somebody refers to the Club's youth football system, they usually use the term 'La Masia', a name that has become a byword for excellent and hard work. 

On 22 November 2007, with Joan Laporta as president, the FC Barcelona board of directors approved the building of a new resident for young athletes at the Club at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper in Sant Joan Despí. The idea was to bring together all the young sportsmen and women who were living at La Masia and other accommodation near to Camp Nou. On 30 June 2011 the residence at La Masia de Can Planes officially closed its doors awaiting a new function. Now, with the project off the ground, soon it will return as the Club's new social headquarters.