100 years since the first stone of the Les Corts stadium

While Barcelona fans eagerly await the works of the Barça space and enjoy a new Camp Noutoday marks the 100th anniversary of the first stone of the stadium in Les Cortsofficially opened on May 20, 1922. Interestingly, 70 years later, the club won its first european cup on Wembley.

As the club itself recalls, Les Corts was soon known as The Cathedral of football. Located in the neighborhood of Les Corts, on land called Can Ribot or Can Guerrabetween the current streets Numancia, Marqués de Sentmenat, Vallespir and Travessera de les Cortsthe origin of everything was in the General Assembly of July 10, 1921. And a proposal was unanimously approved that evidenced the fundamental will of the club to build a new playing field “with all the indispensable conditions required by the good number of the Club for its glorious history and for the honor of all footballing Catalonia”.

President Joan Gamper played a very important role for a work whose financing was decided in an extraordinary Assembly on December 8, 1921. Everything happened through the issuance of mortgage bonds. “Gentlemen, from there a new Barcelona will be born, and an era of prosperity will open and the preparatory period of a history will close”, Gamper said that day.

Gamper signed the deed of purchase of the land Can Ribotalso called Can Guerra, on February 8, 1922. On February 19, the laying of the first stone of the future field of Les Corts took place. from the streets Paris-Urgellwhere was the field of the street Industrya crowd of Barcelona supporters came out towards the location of the future pitch Les Corts. Also taking part in the march were four batsmen from the municipal guard, the music band from the Casa de Familia, the Club’s old banner, carried by former Greco-Roman wrestling champion Josep Ardèvol, and the players from the four soccer teams in the entity, as well as representatives of the City Council and the Commonwealth, the full Board of Directors and numerous members and supporters of FC Barcelona.

The Father Lluís Sabaté proceeded to bless the first stone, which included the coat of arms of the Barçaand Joan Gamper He closed the act with an emotional speech: “Up the hearts, we already have a new field!”

In just three months, a record time, without stopping day and night, it was inaugurated Les Corts on May 20, 1922 with a win (2-1) over the Saint Mirren Scottish. they marked the scottish Birrel at his own door and Paulino Alcántara in a Barça that he formed with Zamora; Plan, Surroca; Torralba, Sancho, Samitier; Piera, Martínez, Funny, Alcántara and Sagi-Barba. Six days earlier, Barça had won the Spanish Championship against Real Unión de Irún by 5-1.

Les Corts It was already small in the beginning. On September 29 and October 1, 1923, in two games against the Athletic there were crowds that led to Gamper to admit: “I think we would have had to acquire a piece of land twice as large”. Between 1921 and 1923, the number of members of the Barça almost tripled: from 4,302 to 11,277.

From 22,000 to 48,000 spectators

The official cost of Les Corts was 991,984.05 pesetas with dimensions of 112×70 meters (Today the Camp Nou pitch is 105×68). The initial capacity was 22,000 viewers after being thus conceived by the architects Santiago Mestres and Josep Alemany. However, in 1942 the side was enlarged and the capacity rose to 32.000. A year later, the North goal Going to 37.000 and the change of the Grandstand on [1945raised it to 43.000. The South Goal also enlarged and 48,000 locations in 1946 they continued to fall short, so eleven years later the Camp Nou was inaugurated with a capacity for 90,000 people

The sale made it possible to pay off the debt

Les Corts It was the subject of different extensions, but the reborn passion for football that was experienced in the post-war period among the culé fans meant that in the end it ended up being too small. Built more than 25 years earlier, the structure was not designed to hold that many people. At the end of the 1940s, the club considered the construction of a new stadium, the Camp Noufinally opened in 1957.

Les Corts it became a training ground and the subsidiary’s stadium, among other secondary uses, until the president Enric Llaudet sold it for 226 million pesetas after being demolished. Houses and new green and sports areas were built on the site. With this money, the amortization of the debt (bank credits, obligations and bonds) that the club suffered due to the costly construction of the Camp Nou.

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