Senior councillors set to approve major redevelopment of historic stadium

Richard Youle, Local Democracy Reporter

Swansea Council and regional rugby side the Ospreys plan to invest around £7.6 million to transform St Helen’s sports ground into a community hub and multi-use sports stadium.

The council said the redevelopment would create a modern venue that respected the ground’s heritage while improving facilities for players, supporters and the wider community, although cricket would no longer be played there.

The two organisations have been working on the plans for some time and contractors have removed much of the existing playing surface in readiness for an all-weather pitch, new stands and a fan zone.

The council’s cabinet is holding a special meeting on June 11 where it’s expected to commit a previously agreed sum in full to cover the community use element of the project.

The cabinet report said the Ospreys have confirmed they will contribute an estimated £2.5 million and be responsible for funding all additional temporary facilities required for match day usage, such as additional hospitality and big screens.

The proposed arrangement involves the council granting the club a 50-year lease, with the freehold of the clubhouse transferring to the council.

The report said: “The council now has the option of proceeding with the minimal initial level of investment for community use as approved in March 2026 or increasing it to the original sum of £5.1m to achieve full value from the proposed enhanced community facility.

“This would no longer be a loan but a community investment although the rent payable by Ospreys would be regarded as ‘best consideration’.”

The new-look ground would also host Swansea RFC matches and be available for use by grassroots clubs, schools, colleges and the Ospreys Academy.

Question marks hung over the Ospreys’ future after the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) said it was planning to cut one of the country’s four regional sides by 2028.

The Ospreys, which announced in 2024 they would leave the Swansea.com Stadium – their home for many years – have been playing home matches at Bridgend’s Brewery Field. Their owners, Y11 Sport and Media, were then confirmed as preferred bidders to buy rival club Cardiff RFC from the WRU.

The council launched legal action against the WRU, which the cabinet report described as “stayed”.

The report said Y11 was no longer pursuing the acquisition of Cardiff and that the WRU has offered – and the Ospreys have indicated they will sign – a new professional rugby agreement known as PRA25.

“The PRA25 provides a level of short to medium-term stability for the Ospreys, with the agreement running until 2030, albeit with a break clause at the end of the 2027-28 season linked to the WRU’s intention to reduce the number of professional regional teams from four to three,” said the report.

“This represents an improvement in certainty when compared with the position reported previously, where there had been no offer of a new agreement and therefore a greater risk to the Ospreys’ immediate future.”

The report added: “In parallel, the WRU has confirmed that it will undertake a fair and transparent process to allocate the future regional licences. The development of St Helen’s as a compliant and high-quality venue strengthens the Ospreys’ position within that process.”

‘Critical’

The report said it was “critical” a decision was taken on how to proceed given the new rugby season was a few months away.

It added: “In the event of the Ospreys not receiving a licence and no longer being a top tier rugby team, the council could exercise a beak option in the lease and the stadium and all its redeveloped facilities would revert back to Swansea Council. This would include the additional asset of the clubhouse.”

Swansea Cricket Club have had to move out of St Helen’s – which also used to host Glamorgan matches – to make way for the redevelopment.