BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona will be back at the Camp Nou for its Spanish league match against Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.

The club announced Monday that 45,401 will be allowed at the venue for the team's first match back since renovation began in 2023. The new Camp Nou will ultimately hold 105,000 fans.

Barcelona said it also hopes to play its Champions League match against Eintracht Frankfurt on Dec. 9 at the revamped stadium.

The return with partial capacity will be possible after the club secured some of the permits it needed to welcome fans at the venue again.

More than 20,000 people paid to watch the team practice at the Camp Nou on Nov. 7.

Work began on upgrading the stadium in June 2023 to expand capacity in Europe’s largest soccer venue that previously stood at 99,000

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