Barça Territory

Barça Territory

THE PALAU, IN DETAIL

Inauguration date: 23 October 1971
Address: Avda. Arístides Maillol, s/n
Capacity: 7.585 espectators
Sports: basketball, handball, roller hockey, futsal.

Palau Blaugrana

Live the excitement of all the action in the Palau!

The club's Sports Hall was opened on 23rd October and is now used by the Basketball, handball, five-a side and roller hockey teams.
The Palau Blaugrana is the sports venue used for FC Barcelonas football, roller hockey and futsal training sessions and official matches. Inaugurated on October 23, 1971, it was designed by Catalan architects Francesc Cavaller and Josep Soteras. Its main feature is its large dome, made of reinforced concrete. At the time, it was one of the most modern and impressive in Spain.
Location
It is located in Avinguda Arístides Maillol, in the district of Les Corts in Barcelona, on the same site as the Camp Nou football stadium. The building annexed to the Palau Blaugrana houses the club offices and ice rink. The facility is also next door to the FCBotiga Megastore and Miniestadi.
Growth of seating area
When the Palau was inaugurated, it held 5,696 spectators. The improvements made in 1994 increased the capacity to 7,334 while further work carried out in October 2007 increased this figure to 7,585. It was following the team's excellent results in the 1980s that the team outgrew its home venue, and with so many fans, the side started playing its home matches at the Palau Sant Jordi, which holds 17,000 (1990-92 season). But the new pavilion turned out to be a little too big, and coupled with the inconvenience for fans of having to travel up the hill to Montjuic, the decision was made to return to the Blaugrana.

Space reserved for special players
The shirts of some of the most important Barça players of the past are on display in the Palau. The seven men honoured are basketball players Andrés Giménez, Nacho Solozábal and Juan Antonio San Epifanio "Epi", along with handball stars Joan Sagalés, Iñaki Urdangarín, Òscar Grau and Enric Masip.
An Olympic site
As well as witnessing the many different achievements of Barcelona's sports teams, with the 'magic of the Palau' inspiring many amazing comebacks in the past, the Palau Blaugrana was also the venue for roller hockey, judo and taekwondo at the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games.