The right way to do it

A few years ago the newly formed Neath-Swansea Ospreys professional rugby side and the long-established Swansea City soccer team knocked their heads together and decided they needed to build a stadium that would take both clubs forward.

Neither club could afford a new stadium but both realised that without it they would not survive in professional sport. The soccer team played at The Vetch, a dilapidated old ground behind the prison in Swansea, while the rugby side shared a vast pitch down the road with the local cricket club but which did not lend itself towards fans.

Both clubs had ideas of what was required if they were to tap into the vital corporate market, attract the best players and provide the best facilities for spectators.

Their plans would still be gathering dust but they found the perfect partners in the City and County Council of Swansea. The politicians and the Council staff realised the value of having a professional soccer and rugby team in town and set about finding a way to develop a stadium.

None of the three parties — Council, Ospreys and Swansea FC — had a brass farthing to rub together to build a stadium but they put on their thinking caps to find a way to carry out the £28 million project which would accomodate 20,000.

The Council had land on the edge of town which they could dispose of, but this is where they got creative. They rezoned half of it for high-density retail and commercial and sold it to developers for £20 million. They sourced grants from Government and the sports organisations and came up with another £5 million.

Suddenly, a £28 million stadium was now going to cost just £3 million. They went a step further and ensured that even this cost would not bankrupt either club.

As a result, neither club pays a fixed rent. Instead, they pay a per centage of gate receipts. The soccer team had an average crowd last year of 14,000, with the Ospreys recording an average just under 10,000.

A managment committee, with representatives from the Council, Ospreys and Swansea City FC, was put in place to run the Liberty Stadium and ensure it made a profit.