Ospreys Confirm Move To St Helen’s
Ospreys have announced that they are moving home from the Swansea.com Stadium to the St Helen’s Sports Ground, ahead of the 2024/25 season.
St Helen’s was one of two final options for the Ospreys, with the Brewery Field in Bridgend the other.
The Swansea-based region played two fixtures at the Brewery Field last season: victories over Cardiff Rugby and Sale Sharks in the United Rugby Championship and Challenge Cup respectively.
However, moving permanently to the Brewery Field would take Ospreys out of Swansea, a factor that appears to have been the decider for Ospreys.
St Helen’s is where Wales played their first ever international rugby match 1882, and in recent years has hosted Glamorgan county cricket matches.
Ospreys will remain at the Swansea.com Stadium, home of Swansea City Football Club, for next season.
Ospreys have pledged a ‘multi-million pound investment’ into the ground, which will see the installation of a new 4G pitch, new stands on three sides, a refurbishment of the club house, and a new fan zone area.
Swansea RFC – St Helen’s current incumbents – and Swansea University will continue to use the ground and Ospreys have committed to community rugby staying at the ground when they move.
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Lance Bradley, CEO of Ospreys, has hailed the move as “transformational” for the club.
“Moving to a ground we can call our own home will be transformational for everyone involved with the club – including players, staff, supporters and sponsors,” said Bradley.
“Our investment demonstrates our confidence not only in the plans we have both on and off the pitch, but also our confidence in the future of Welsh rugby and the plans being developed by the Welsh Rugby Union.”
St Helen’s Sports Ground is owned by Swansea Council, who have ambitious plans to develop the whole area into an elite sports park.
Rob Stewart, leader of the council, was pleased with Ospreys’ decision to select Swansea as their preferred future home.
“We’re delighted with the Ospreys announcement that they’d like to return to St Helen’s,” he said.
“It’s something many Ospreys fans will be very excited about. We’ve worked closely with Lance and his team throughout their search for a preferred new home, and this is really great news for the city.
“Swansea is a fantastic location for elite sport, with Swansea University a leader in the field of sports science.
“We have significant ambitions for a sports science park in Swansea and the Ospreys’ aim to commit their long-term future to Swansea aligns with this; we’ll work hard with them and others to explore their vision over the coming weeks and months. There remains more work to do but we now have clarity to move forward with discussions.”
Speaking to Ospreys’ YouTube, Bradley answered fans’ questions on the new stadium:
Why St Helen’s?
“We looked right across the area,” he said.
“Brownfield sites, greenfield sites, existing stadiums. It was a really exhaustive search. In May we narrowed it down to either St Helen’s or the Brewery Field in Bridgend.
“We had massive support from Bridgend and Swansea Councils, so a massive thanks to them. In the end, it has come down to the location.
“St Helen’s is an amazing facility, it is right in the heartland of our supporter base and the opportunity for us to build a fantastic stadium in one that we feel very excited about.”
Choosing between St Helen’s and Brewery Field
“The choice in the end between St Helen’s and Brewery Field was really tight,” Bradley explained.
“Brewery Field is a fantastic old stadium, steeped in history. In the end, we felt that St Helen’s would give us a bit more of an opportunity to do some of the things that we want to do. We have quite ambitious plans as club.”
How will the phased approach to renovating the pitch and stadium work?
“There is going to be a phased approach to what we do at St Helen’s,” Bradley elaborated.
“It’s a multi-million pound project. That’s partly why it’s taken a little while to get over the line.
“Phase one would be to install a new pitch and new stands to create a stadium. We will also put a roof on the terrace so that the whole stadium is under cover.
“In the future, phase two may involve moving the training centre here. Longer term, that would be a fantastic goal to achieve.”
