Premier League football club Swansea City is to assume full control of its Liberty Stadium home after a lease deal for the venue was given the green light by the local council.
Earlier this month, Swansea announced that it had secured a deal to lease the venue, its home since 2005, subject to the approval of cabinet at the council.
The BBC has reported that the cabinet has now signed off on this agreement and Swansea will pay the local council £300,000 (€336,600/$396,800) a year for the next 37 years. The agreement also grants the council a cut of revenue generated from stadium naming rights should the club go on to sign such a deal.
Built in 2005, the stadium had been run under a tripartite agreement between the club, the council and Welsh Pro14 rugby union team Ospreys, which also plays its home games at the venue. Each of the parties had representation on Swansea Stadium Management Company (SSMC), mutually controlled body that had managed the venue.
The deal will allow football club to assume full control of SSMC, while the lease agreement also sets out that the Ospreys will remain based at the stadium.
However, despite Swansea taking operation control of the Liberty Stadium, the council will retain ownership of the 21,000-capacity venue.
Speaking earlier this month about the deal, Swansea’s chief operating officer Chris Pearlman said: “We’ve always looked at the big picture. Under the old agreement, Swansea City did not see any direct revenue from the Liberty Stadium’s operations. The new agreement would allow us to be more active in exploring the likes of stadium expansion, naming rights, sponsorship, catering revenue and enhancing supporters’ match-day experiences.”
Rob Stewart, Swansea Council Leader, also spoke highly of the deal: “The new agreement is beneficial to all parties – the council, the Swans and the Ospreys. We believe it strikes the right balance between the needs of the council and gives both sports clubs a platform to further develop, helping build on their fantastic achievements over the last decade or so.”
Representatives from Swansea City A.F.C. will attend TheStadiumBusiness Design & Development Summit on 28-29 November, to represent the project.
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