It is used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Barcelona since the 2023–24 season, due to the renovation of their regular ground, the Camp Nou.

The opening ceremonies included Spain's first official rugby international game against Italy, and a friendly football match between the Catalan national team and Bolton Wanderers, which the Catalan team won by a shocking score of 4–0 with goals from Josep Samitier (2), Martí Ventolrà and Manuel Parera.

In the fifties, the stadium was the centerpiece of the 1955 Mediterranean Games, and in 1957 it hosted the only national football cup final between Barcelona and Espanyol, the two local clubs.

[citation needed] During the Barcelona's bid for the 1992 Summer Olympics, the stadium was totally renovated with the involvement of Italian architect Vittorio Gregotti.

In 2001, the stadium was renamed after the former president of the Generalitat de Catalunya Lluís Companys, who was executed at the nearby Montjuïc Castle in 1940 by the Franco regime.