Inside the Espai Barça Partnership with Crestron
The technological backbone behind a cultural icon: the home of FC Barcelona, Spotify Camp Nou, part of the larger Espai Barça project
By Ed Wenck
Inside the Espai Barça Partnership with Crestron

If you’re from the U.S., think for a moment about some of the biggest sports venues in the country. Michigan Stadium might come to mind: The “Big House” can seat more than 107,000 fans of American college football. If you’re from the UK, perhaps London’s Wembley Stadium might top the list.

Next, think about a facility that is forever linked to its home city, a place that really has a cultural impact on its locale (and vice-versa). Lambeau Field, home of Wisconsin’s Green Bay Packers of the NFL, is a prime example, or perhaps Boston’s Fenway Park, home of Major League Baseball’s Red Sox, or the racetracks of Le Mans and Indianapolis.

Lastly, conjure a space that’s known worldwide for hosting all manner of events. New York’s Madison Square Garden works for this part of our thought experiment. Home to hockey, basketball, concerts, and conventions, it’s truly a multi-use, multi-purpose facility in the heart of its home city.

Now think about a place that wraps all those together. You’ve just described what Spotify Camp Nou is becoming.

Read the Spotify Camp Nou case study

Design strategy. Technology integration. Project insights. Dive deeper into this one-of-a-kind stadium and its once-in-a-generation upgrade.

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“More Than a Club”

Spotify Camp Nou is the home of one of the most culturally impactful sports organizations in all of Europe, if not the world, FC Barcelona. Since its founding in 1899, Futbol Club Barcelona has truly lived up to its motto, “More Than a Club.” It’s an enduring symbol of the Catalan culture of Northeastern Spain, and it’s nearly unique in the fact that the club is owned and operated by its supporters (again, akin to the Green Bay Packers of American football fame). A competitor in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football, FC Barcelona is one of the winningest clubs in the sport, both domestically (with a record 81 trophies) and internationally.

The club’s current home has been around since 1957. Spotify Camp Nou has hosted several large-scale events, including concerts by Bruce Springsteen, Julio Iglesias, and U2. The stadium also saw a huge crowd for a celebration of Mass by Pope John Paul II in 1982.

The updated Spotify Camp Nou will be the centerpiece of the larger Espai Barça project, which integrates the stadium and several surrounding facilities into the Les Corts neighborhood of Barcelona. The new campus will include Estadi Johan Cryuff, a smaller sports stadium built for training and youth sports; Nou Palau Blaugrana, an event center that can handle everything from basketball, handball, and futsal games to concerts; and Campus Barça, the “connective tissue” between the buildings that houses a museum, merch store for the club, and much more. It’s a verdant space built with community and sustainability in mind.

For the most part, however, its use had been limited to match days, which the refit will change dramatically. “Currently, Spotify Camp Nou is being used roughly 22 days a year,” says Antonio Ortega, Crestron’s regional sales director for Iberica and Italy. “It’s becoming a 365-day-a-year complex that will encompass a variety of spaces to host different events simultaneously, providing the city a reference location and maximize additional revenue to the club.”

And all of those event spaces, meeting spaces, dining and concession areas, luxury lounges and VIP boxes — not to mention the stands surrounding the pitch — demand tech solutions that can handle everything from lighting to content sharing, from control systems to collaborative conferencing tools, and much more.

Crestron is handling the bulk of it.

“Spotify Camp Nou is becoming a 365-day-a-year complex that will encompass a variety of spaces to host different events simultaneously, providing the city a reference location and maximize additional revenue to the club.”

— Antonio Ortega, Regional Sales Director for Iberica and Italy, Crestron

The Scale of Spotify Camp Nou

“We’re providing the content, control, and collaboration solutions across the different spaces,” says Ortega. “We’re deploying a complete ecosystem based around IP technologies with DM NVX AV-over-IP for video distribution, DM NAX Audio-over-IP and Virtual Control processing for all the areas in this complex project.”

As Ortega speaks, it becomes apparent that even he — someone who’s in the very process of executing this overall plan — is amazed by the sheer scope of it. “The biggest challenge of this project and concept is managing all the different technologies seamlessly and helping the end user at all times with a large variety of requirements for each space,” he says. Controlling the lighting in the facility is a gargantuan undertaking in its own right, as the stadium grows to accommodate all those individual spaces — and welcomes more than 105,000 fans on match days. “We’re talking about a system that can handle tens of thousands of lighting loads,” he adds.

The backbone of all of this, of course, is an incredibly robust network. The length of the project demands that portions of the stadium are closed for work during the process, even as fans are welcomed into open sections for league play during the La Liga season. To achieve this kind of stage-by-stage update, the stadium’s being transformed from the bottom up. The technology for future phases will bring connected solutions to all the VIP boxes, VIP event spaces, DJ stations, and the roof terrace.

“We had an extensive discussion about the network architecture of the stadium since it’s such a key element in this kind of a deployment,” he explains. “This includes getting all the spaces squared away — determining where we need data ports, how much power each will require, and so on. These are true hospitality spaces, so you have to be sure that all the user’s needs are met in every single space.” The integration team maps out those needs for one of those spaces, and that plan is folded into the executive project to coordinate all the additional services around it.

“That sounds like a big multiplier, but in the end, with good planning and a great team it’s not tricky at all,” says Ortega. That’s a true expression of the confidence he has in these solutions: “Our technology is flawless. Having a solid network infrastructure, PoE, and the right ports in the right places as we’ve planned, we can deliver exactly what the customer expects for every occasion.”

Learn more about the Crestron solutions integrated into Spotify Camp Nou:

DM NVX® AV-over-IP
DM NAX® Audio-over-IP
Crestron Control Solutions
Automate VX Multi-camera Speaker Tracking Solution
1 Beyond Cameras
Crestron Flex Video Conference Systems
AirMedia Presentation and Conferencing Solutions
Crestron XiO Cloud® Technology Operations Management Platform
Crestron Videobar 70 All-in-One Collaboration Bar

Into the Individual Spaces

Miguel Castro, a lead integrator on the project agrees with Ortega’s assessment. “We’ve worked with Crestron for more than a decade, and they have become a strategic partner for our high-level AV integration projects,” he says. “Over the years, we have built a strong relationship based on proven performance and the ability to deliver complex solutions at the highest standard.

Castro further notes that working with a single manufacturer with such a broad portfolio of solutions was another plus: “By involving Crestron from the beginning, we were able to create a more consistent, future-ready ecosystem and ensure that each space was designed with both immediate needs and long-term flexibility in mind.”

Those spaces that Castro refers to include both public-facing areas and the parts of a multi-use venue like Spotify Camp Nou that are reserved for players, executives, and staff.

Castro walks us through the highlights:

  • The Pitch Club, AKA The Main Hospitality Hub — “The Pitch Club — also called the Main Hospitality Hub — is a multifunctional premium space designed to support different types of experiences, from match-day hospitality to private events and corporate functions throughout the year,” says Castro. “Its flexible layout allows the venue to adapt to different audiences and event formats.” That layout demanded a multizone audio system based on DM NAX® Audio-Over-IP technology solutions and Saros® speakers, allowing independent audio control across different areas. Content distribution is powered by DM NVX® AV-over-IP technology, enabling high-quality video delivery throughout the space for live match feeds, presentations, or branded content. “The space features multiple audio and video connection points, providing maximum flexibility for external sources, live events, and changing operational needs,” adds Castro.
  • The Presidential Suite — “This may be one of the most important spaces in the building,” says Castro. “The Presidential Suite is a premium space similar in functionality to the hospitality areas, designed to host high-level guests, executives, and official representatives in an exclusive environment. It combines comfort, privacy, and a first-class match-day or event experience. What makes this space especially distinctive is the attention given to design and discreet technology integration. Audio and video systems have been carefully incorporated into the architecture to create a clean, elegant, and fully integrated environment, where technology enhances the experience without dominating the space.”
  • The Boardroom — The Boardroom at Spotify Camp Nou is the very definition of a “high-impact space: It’s been designed as an executive meeting space for the organization’s biggest decision-makers. “This space was created to support strategic discussions, presentations, and top-tier collaboration in a premium environment,” says Castro. “The objective was to deliver the highest standards of performance, reliability, and user experience.”

    “To achieve this, the room features advanced 1 Beyond cameras and Automate VX speaker tracking technologies for intelligent video and camera tracking, creating a seamless hybrid meeting experience,” he notes. “It also includes Dante-based audio for professional sound quality and large-format visual displays for impactful presentations and clear communication.”
  • VIP Suites and Business Box — These aren’t your typical luxury boxes, according to Castro: “The VIP Suites and Business Box areas have been designed as private premium spaces where guests can enjoy match days in an exclusive setting — while also being able to host private meetings and business gatherings throughout the year. This dual-purpose concept makes them valuable both as hospitality environments and professional meeting spaces.”

    “Each space includes displays for watching the live match or delivering presentations, giving users the flexibility to switch easily between entertainment and business use,” he adds. BYOD options include personalized audio available through Bluetooth® connectivity from the user’s own device, which is also integrated into the venue’s central system. Motorized blinds provide additional privacy and comfort when needed. Touch screens in each box provide intuitive access to all the functions.
  • Locker Rooms — The tech updates stretch into Spotify Camp Nou’s locker rooms. “The technology we’ve installed allows presentations, tactical briefings, and video playback for match preparation and performance analysis,” says Castro. High-quality displays and integrated AV systems ensure that information can be shared clearly and efficiently with the team. The modern locker room also needs its music, and that’s built into the design. “The spaces also allow users to select their own Spotify playlists, integrated through the Crestron platform,” Castro explains.
  • Other Meeting Rooms — Technology for regular operations of the entire venue has also been accounted for. “The stadium includes several meeting rooms equipped with Crestron Videobar 70 all-in-one collaboration bars designed to provide high-quality video conferencing and simple collaboration for day-to-day meetings,” says Castro.

    (Watch this space for more details on the “nuts and bolts” of the tech solutions Castro has described in future articles.)

Ultimately, nearly every square meter in Spotify Camp Nou is being transformed into a multi-functional meeting, entertainment, or collaborative space. “Many of the hospitality areas also include UC solutions, allowing them to host sessions, presentations, and events that require hybrid experiences,” says Castro. “This gives the venue greater flexibility, enabling premium spaces to function not only on match days, but also as modern collaboration environments throughout the year.”

“We chose Crestron because they offer the combination of stability, scalability, and innovation that a project of this size demands — and over the last decade, we’ve really come to rely on durable solutions that can be easily updated.”

— Miguel Castro, Lead AV Technology Integrator

A True Group Effort

One aspect of this project that Ortega wants to stress is that throughout the design process, the installation of the technology, and beyond into day-to-day operations, it’s got to be a team undertaking.

“We’ve had to work hand in hand with all the different areas of the club from the beginning to capture all their needs and make them a reality,” says Ortega. “We’re deeply involved in the whole process of the project, from understanding the needs of FC Barcelona in each space, the technology required to make it happen and the execution in concordance with the project management team, architects and interior designers to make sure everything fits correctly.” The team that handles all the event space rentals (including those that are up and running on non-match days) have the same needs you’d expect from any large hospitality venue: Do we have the right AV gear? What about collaboration tools? Are they easy to control?

Fortunately for Ortega (and everyone else on the project), he’s had experience integrating large sports venues, such as Spotify Camp Nou, as well as other venues in Europe. “We’ve also kept our eyes on what’s happening with some North American stadiums — especially in the NFL — that host multiple types of events.” Because of that experience, he’s been able to advise the installation team throughout the process.

Ultimately, everyone who works at Spotify Camp Nou will have some interaction with Crestron technology. “That’s part of the reason Crestron was chosen for all of these spaces,” says Ortega. “We make so many of these solutions that the experience can remain consistent from space to space, from room to room.”

Castro agrees: “Crestron also provides a unified ecosystem, which helps simplify operations, improve the user experience, and make system management more efficient. For us, it was the right partner to help deliver a connected venue at the highest standard.” And while technology that meets that standard is expensive, Ortega notes that the final bill is a very small fraction of the 1.3 billion dollar (US) budget for the stadium.

And there’s one more reason that the team behind Spotify Camp Nou chose Crestron: Trust.

“We chose Crestron because they offer the combination of stability, scalability, and innovation that a project of this size demands — and over the last decade, we’ve really come to rely on durable solutions that can be easily updated,” says Castro. “In a complex environment like a modern stadium, it’s essential to work with technology that is reliable every day and flexible enough to grow with future needs.”

Ortega sums it up: “Having such a complex deployment in such an incredible facility where any user, from the Club executives to the support team, has complete confidence in what we’re doing and the process — well, that’s an incredible achievement on its own.”

Signature Story

Spotify Camp Nou

From match day to everyday. See how the home of FC Barcelona became a year-round destination powered by Crestron content, collaboration, and control solutions.

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SPOTIFY CAMP NOU

Signature Story

Spotify Camp Nou

From match day to everyday. See how the home of FC Barcelona became a year-round destination powered by Crestron content, collaboration, and control solutions.

Learn More