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As Welsh Rugby’s reforms continue to descend into a scrap for survival, one project has become a focal point: the Ospreys move from the Swansea.com football stadium to the smaller, purpose built rugby ground of St Helen’s. The historic home of Swansea RFC & Swansea cricket club, St.Helens is seen by many in ‘Ospreylia’ as the thing that will save them - a cure all for results, atmosphere, attendances and financial stability.
The ground is not currently suitable for elite level rugby, so a large renovation project is planned. This will be joint funded by the Ospreys & Swansea county council, who will own the ground and lease it back to the Ospreys once the work is complete. It is already creating a political storm in West Wales.
Whether the Ospreys continue as they are or a new brand is created in their place, the survival of elite level rugby in Swansea, Wales’ second city, now appears inextricably linked to the project. Certainly, Ospreys CEO Lance Bradley has made it the centrepiece of his messaging and communication with fans for over a year now. He has posted regular updates and held in person events about the St. Helens move. Ospreys have already taken deposits from fans for season tickets at the new ground.
Even if the reforms were not happening, St. Helens would still be critical to Ospreys’ survival. Dwindling attendances - which last season dropped to record lows, describe by Bradley as unsustainable - and an inability to generate match day income have made continued use of the Swansea.com untenable. St. Helens, it is hoped, will draw back old fans who had left by improving the match-going experience and allow the Ospreys to generate more income from food & drink sales.
However, in recent weeks, there have been worrying signs that the project is starting to slip. On the 17th of July, Lance Bradley posted an image on social media of him filming at St. Helens with the caption ‘announcement next week’. 8 days later, he posted that the announcement was to be delayed by a week. The reason he gave was him, and others, ‘being on holiday’.
On the 31st of July, the Ospreys released the video Bradley had filmed. In it he confirmed the move to St. Helens was planned for December 2025 and that season tickets would go on sale on the 12th of August. The Ospreys were already the last Welsh region to put their season tickets on sale - a delay Bradley said was due to the region working with a new ticket provider who was building a their online platform.
In the following week, there was good news as planning permission was granted for the St. Helens renovations. However, on the 11th of August - the day before season tickets were due to go on sale - rumours of delays started circulating. On the 12th, the day fans were expecting to purchase tickets, there was a new update.
Primarily, Bradley announced that the lease for the Ospreys to use St. Helens had been signed with Swansea council as planned. He then communicated 2 new pieces of information: season ticket sales were to be delayed a further 2 weeks and the move to St. Helens was to be delayed from December 2025 to September 2026.
The reason Bradley gave for the 9 month delay was that the Ospreys had decided they wanted to complete as much building work as possible before fans were allowed in. This is similar to what Leinster have done with their renovations of the RDS, in contrast to what Connacht have done in renovating their Sportsground stadium whilst fans were still allowed to attend.
The longest lead part of the renovations, Bradley said, was the addition of a new permanent grandstand which would take 8 months to build. This was a crucial part of the planning permission that had been granted a week earlier. The stand, according to Bradley, was a late addition to the renovation plans. Mocked-up images of the stand were first shared with Ospreys supporters during a meeting on the 22nd of March.
Whilst the Ospreys will now not move into St. Helens until the season after next, they have already left the Swansea.com. Instead, they will play the entirety of the 25/26 season at the Dunraven Brewery Field in Bridgend. The decision has a feeling of haste about it.
In the past few days, Bradley has post more updates of him meeting with Bridgend council and the Ravens - the incumbents of the Brewery Field - to finalise detail of the plans. This suggests it really was a last minute decision. The URC season kicks off in 5 weeks.
Ospreys fans are more than familiar with the Brewery Field. The team has been using the venue on a semi regular basis to avoid clashes with Swansea football team at the main stadium. Initially, it was an extremely popular move, with the first game their against Cardiff on New Year’s Day 2024 drawing a sell-out crowd.
However, since then, enthusiasm has died down. That New Year’s Day game drew some criticism from the wider URC community due to the poor condition of the pitch (which resembled a mud bath by the end), disabled fans being force to huddle under a gazebo behind the posts due to poor accessibility of the main stands and other fans using a lorry trailer as a makeshift grandstand - although they were asked to come down by stewards.
Despite being in the Ospreys region, the Brewery Field is actually closer to Cardiff than Swansea and some fans have said they are not willing to commit to making the journey for every home game. Attendances at the ground were already declining, with some games last campaign struggling to break the 4 thousand mark - making them the lowest attendances in Wales that season.
Furthermore, concerns have been raised about the lack of adequate toilet facilities in the ground and the prevalence of standing only spaces for spectators. Whilst the ground is more up to date than St. Helens currently is, it is still a throwback venue that is mostly used for semi-pro rugby.
The Ospreys have committed to improving the facilities in Bridgend, saying they will add a temporary stand with seating behind the posts. Bradley has also responded to the transport concerns by saying the region is in talks with train and bus companies to facilitate easy travel between the ground and Swansea.
Meanwhile, some fans were upset that season tickets were not only delayed but the prices were increased. The cheapest ticket for as season at Bridgend is now 90 pounds more than what a season ticket at the Swansea.com cost 2 years ago - on paper a much superior facility, although an unpopular one. Tickets are being marketed for the new temporary stand that is (at time of writing) yet to be installed.
The question is: why did the Ospreys make this decision to delay the move to St. Helens so late? It was only 12 days between the initial video committing to the stadium move in December and the 9 month delay being announced.
It seems unlikely that it was only during this time that Bradley & the Ospreys realised how long it would take to build the grandstand. Infrastructure projects, not just in rugby but in any industry, are renowned for running late and over budget. Most fans had already assumed that building work would be still ongoing when St. Helens opened in December.
Was there something more? Some new information that forced them to delay? Without doubt, the enormous levels of uncertainty caused by the WRU’s restructuring process will have had an impact. Further west, it is understood that the investment into Parc y Scarlets by American company House of Sports & Entertainment is contingent on pro rugby continuing in Llanelli post WRU reforms.
The funding offer by Swansea council to renovate St. Helens is also conditional, but it is not public what those conditions are. Could it be they are also waiting to see if pro rugby will continue in their region? Many might argue it would be unwise to start work until the future of Welsh pro rugby is better understood.
Whatever the case, Ospreys fans must keep up the pressure on Lance Bradley and the Ospreys leadership. They have been open and engaging with their updates, but last minute delays only cause more stress and paranoia during these extremely difficult times.
Everyone in the Osprey’s fanbase is desperate for good news following a difficult season and limited new signings. The Ospreys too, need to be seen to have good news to strengthen their negotiating position with the WRU, but this must not lead to them overpromising and underdelivering.
If there are delays, the management must be open and honest with the fans. They deserve that for what they have had to deal with over the last few seasons as the Ospreys, at times, looked to be teetering on the edge of going out of existence. There is a huge amount of goodwill towards Bradley from supporters; he must not jeopardise that by making commitments he cannot keep.