Camp de Les Corts (), commonly referred to as Les Corts, was a sports stadium in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. It was the home for

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Found ...

until the club moved to the Camp Nou in 1957. It was also the home of

CD Condal Club Deportivo Condal was a Spanish football club based in Barcelona, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Founded in 1934 and dissolved in 1970, it held home games at ''Camp de Les Corts'', with a capacity of 25,000 spectators. History ...

for the club's entire history.

Overview

''Les Corts'' was built as a result of a long-term plan by the club president,

Joan Gamper Hans Max Gamper-Haessig (; 22 November 1877 – 30 July 1930), commonly known as Joan Gamper (), was a Swiss-born football executive and versatile athlete. He founded football clubs in Switzerland and Spain, most notably FC Barcelona and FC Zür ...

, to provide FC Barcelona with its own stadium. It replaced the

Camp de la Indústria Camp de la Indústria () or Campo de la calle Indústria was a multi-use stadium in Barcelona, Spain. It was initially used as the home venue of FC Barcelona, until the team moved to Camp de Les Corts in 1922. The capacity of the stadium was 6,000 ...

as the home of FC Barcelona. Inaugurated in 1922, the initial capacity was 20,000. The first game played at the ground was between FC Barcelona and St Mirren. On 13 May 1923 the stadium hosted the

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...

final between Athletic Bilbao and

CE Europa Club Esportiu Europa is a Spanish football team based in the city of Barcelona in the district of Gràcia, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Founded in 1907, it plays in the Segunda División RFEF – Group 3, holding home games at '' No ...

and on 21 December 1924 Les Corts hosted a game between

and

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. On 24 June 1925 the stadium was the scene of an incident that saw it closed for six months. During a game, FC Barcelona fans jeered the Spanish national anthem and then applauded ''

God Save the King "God Save the King" is the national and/or royal anthem of the United Kingdom, most of the Commonwealth realms, their territories, and the British Crown Dependencies. The author of the tune is unknown and it may originate in plainchant, b ...

'', performed by a visiting British Royal Marine band. The dictatorship of

Primo de Rivera Primo de Rivera is a Spanish family prominent in politics of the 19th and 20th centuries: *Fernando Primo de Rivera (1831–1921), Spanish politician and soldier *Miguel Primo de Rivera (1870–1930), nephew of Fernando, military officer and dictat ...

accused

of promoting Catalan nationalism. Les Corts was shut down and Gamper was expelled from Spain. The stadium was the home of FC Barcelona during two of its most successful eras. During the 1920s with coach Jack Greenwell and players such as

Paulino Alcántara Paulino Alcántara Riestrá (7 October 1896 – 13 February 1964) was a football player and manager who played as a forward. Born in the Philippines, he spent most of his playing career at Barcelona, and also represented Catalonia, the Philipp ...

, Sagibarba,

Ricardo Zamora Ricardo Zamora Martínez (; 14 February 1901 – 8 September 1978) was a Spanish footballer and manager. He played as a goalkeeper for, among others, RCD Espanyol, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. As an international he played for both the Cata ...

Josep Samitier Josep Samitier Vilalta (; 2 February 1902 – 4 May 1972), also known as José Samitier, was a Spanish football player, manager and scout who played as a midfielder for FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, OGC Nice, the Catalan XI, and Spain. He lat ...

Félix Sesúmaga Félix Sesúmaga Ugarte (12 October 1898 – 24 August 1925) was a Spanish (Basque) footballer who played as a forward for Arenas Club de Getxo, FC Barcelona, Racing de Sama de Langreo, Athletic Bilbao and Spain. Sesúmaga won the Copa del Re ...

and

Franz Platko Franz may refer to: People * Franz (given name) * Franz (surname) Places * Franz (crater), a lunar crater * Franz, Ontario, a railway junction and unorganized town in Canada * Franz Lake, in the state of Washington, United States – see Fran ...

, the club dominated the

Campionat de Catalunya The Catalan football championship ''(Campionat de Catalunya)'' was a football competition in Catalonia and the first football league in Spain before La Liga was established in 1929. In December 1900, Alfons Macaya, the president of Hispania AC, ...

and emerged as one of the top clubs in Spain. The club built on that success and also won the first ever

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

while based at Les Corts. By the late 1940s, FC Barcelona had outgrown Les Corts. The stadium had been extended on several occasions, reaching a final capacity of 60,000. However, there was no room for further expansion and in 1950 the club began to make plans for a new stadium, the Camp Nou. The club moved to its new stadium upon its inauguration on 24 September 1957. After the closure of Les Corts, the club began a long, ultimately successful, process to rezone the property to allow for residential and commercial use. Demolition of the old stadium began on 2 February 1966. Of the property, were then rebuilt as parks and sports facilities (basketball and hockey courts, swimming pools, etc.). Residential and commercial buildings were erected on the rest of the site.

External links

Estadios de España
FC Barcelona Football venues in Barcelona Defunct sports venues in Catalonia Defunct football venues in Spain Les Corts (district) Sports venues completed in 1922 Sports venues demolished in 1966 {{Spain-sports-venue-stub