Less than a week after Premier League soccer club Swansea City finally took control of its home ground, Liberty Stadium, from its local council, the team has announced that it will look to sell the naming rights of the venue as well as increase capacity.
The stadium, which was built by Swansea council in 2005 for £27m (US$37m), enabled both Swansea City FC and the Ospreys rugby side to play as part of a rent agreement.
Shareholders of the team struck a long-term lease agreement to obtain sole control of the Stadium Management Company. This includes allowing the Ospreys to continue playing at the venue for a nominal fee, as well as agreeing to fund construction of two artificial 3G pitches every year in the Swansea area for the next five years.
“This deal is a hugely important step toward the sustainability of Swansea City Football Club and certainly begins a pathway to stadium expansion, which we have always said was a key part of our plan for the club,” said Steve Kaplan, Swansea City’s majority shareholder.
According to Swansea City’s owners, the deal will allow the team to control its own destiny, and to look at increasing revenue streams. The team will now be able to sell naming rights and increase capacity of the 21,000-seater venue in phases.
“We’re not going to go for 45,000 extra seats but if we can add another 5,000-10,000, that’s real money. And that money has a big impact on the club. The more money we can generate, the more money we can reinvest in the playing side,” Swansea City’s chief operating officer Chris Pearlman told the BBC.
February 23, 2018
