Swansea.com Stadium

Coordinates: 51°38′32″N 3°56′06″W / 51.6422°N 3.9351°W / 51.6422; -3.9351
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This article is about the Liberty Stadium in Swansea. For other uses, see Liberty Stadium.
Liberty Stadium
Stadiwm Liberty
Map
Former namesWhite Rock
LocationMorfa, Swansea SA1 2FA
Coordinates51°38′32″N 3°56′06″W / 51.6422°N 3.9351°W / 51.6422; -3.9351
OwnerCity and County of Swansea Council
OperatorStadCo
Capacity20,532
SurfaceDesso GrassMaster
Construction
Broke ground2003
Opened2005
Construction cost£ 27 million
ArchitectTTH of Newcastle
Tenants
Swansea City A.F.C. (2005-present)
Ospreys (Magners League) (2005-present)

The Liberty Stadium (Welsh: Stadiwm Liberty) is a purpose-built sports and concert arena and conferencing venue in the Landore area of Swansea, Wales. The stadium is all-seated, with a capacity of 20,532 making it the largest purpose-built venue in Swansea and the third largest stadium in Wales. It is also the home of Swansea City and the Ospreys.

History

With the Vetch Field and St Helen's both no longer being acceptable venues to play at, and both the Swans and the Ospreys not having the necessary capital to invest into a new stadium, Swansea council and a developer-led consortia submitted a proposal for a sustainable 'bowl' venue for 20,520 seats on a site to the west of the river on the site of the Morfa Stadium, which the Council owned. It was funded by a 355,000 ft retail park on land to the east of the river. The final value of the development being in excess of £50m. [1]

The highest attendance recorded at the Liberty Stadium was 19,288, during a league game between Swansea City and Yeovil Town on 11 November 2005. The stadium has since hosted two Wales internationals against Georgia and Sweden which both ended in a 2-1 [2] and 1-0 [3] defeat for Wales respectively.

Naming

During its construction, a variety of names were suggested for it: most commonly-used was "White Rock" stadium (after the copper works of the same name which existed on the site historically). However "White Rock" was only used as a temporary name during its construction and when work was finished, the name was dropped and the stadium owners began looking for sponsors for the stadium. [4] While sponsors were being searched for, it was called the "New Stadium Swansea". On 18 October 2005, Swansea-based developers Liberty Properties Plc won the naming rights to call it the "Liberty Stadium". [5]

Opening

On 10 July 2005, The Liberty Stadium was opened and became the home to Swansea City (replacing the Vetch Field) and the Ospreys (replacing St Helen's and The Gnoll).

On 23 July 2005, The Liberty Stadium was officially opened as Swansea City faced Fulham, (then managed by former Swansea player Chris Coleman) in an friendly match. [6] The match ended in a 1-1 draw with the first goal being scored by Fulham's Steed Malbranque. [7]

Statues

Before a league match between Swansea City and Oldham Athletic, a statue of Ivor Allchurch was unveiled to commemorate the Swansea-born star who during two spells for the club scored a record 164 goals in 445 appearances. [8]

Concerts

On 1 June 2007, The Who played a concert there, supported by Killing For Company and The Charlatans.[9]

Elton John played at the Liberty Stadium on 29 June 2008, in front of an estimated record crowd of 25,000. He was supported by Richard Fleeshman.[10]

On 23 June 2010, Pink performed at the stadium during her Funhouse Summer Carnival Tour.[11]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Liberty Stadium". swanseacity.net. 2010. Retrieved 14-5-2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  2. ^ "Georgia punish sloppy Welsh". Sky Sports. 2008. Retrieved 21-8-2008. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  3. ^ "Elmander strike slays Dragons". Sky Sports. 2010. Retrieved 4-3-2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  4. ^ "Stadium name puzzle for fans". BBC News. 2004. Retrieved 21-07-2004. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  5. ^ "City stadium takes sponsor's name". BBC News. 2005. Retrieved 18-10-2005. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  6. ^ "City stadium ready for kick-off". BBC Sport. 22 July 2005. Retrieved 22 July 2005.
  7. ^ "Swansea 1-1 Fulham". BBC Sport. 23 July 2005. Retrieved 23 July 2005.
  8. ^ "Swans unveil Allchurch monument". BBC Sport. 2005. Retrieved 15-10-2005. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  9. ^ "The Who to play Liberty Stadium". City and county of Swansea. 2007. Retrieved February 2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  10. ^ "Rocket Man Elton John At Full Power For Swansea Date". South Wales Evening Post. 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-03.
  11. ^ "Singer Pink to rock Swansea's Liberty Stadium". South Wales Evening Post. 2009. Retrieved 3-11-2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)

External links

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