Simon Thomas
It will be a landmark occasion for the Ospreys on Saturday evening when they play their first BKT URC match at their new St Helen’s home.
The Swansea ground has been transformed over the past four months amid a major redevelopment with work taking place around the clock to get it ready for this weekend’s game against Dragons RFC.
It will be very much a trip down memory lane as St Helen’s was an original home venue for the Ospreys when the region was launched back in 2003.
They then moved to the Liberty Stadium in late 2005, with that ground – the home of Swansea City football club – being their base for the next 20 years.
Then, in 2025, they brought down the curtain on their two decade stay at what had been rebranded as the Swansea.com Stadium.
They spent last season at Bridgend’s Brewery Field, which proved a real fortress for them, staging a number of notable victories.
But now they are back at St Helen’s, the picturesque seafront venue where the waters of Swansea Bay are just a decent touch finder away.
The move was confirmed in March of this year when agreement was reached between the Ospreys and Swansea Council on a joint investment to redevelop the famous old ground which once staged Wales international matches, as well as county cricket.
There has been a huge response from the public with the region’s season ticket sales having more than doubled.
St Helen’s is to be the home not just for the Ospreys, but also Swansea RFC and will further serve as a facility for community clubs.
Work has been going on at a feverish pace over the past couple of months to get the ground up and running in time to stage the BKT URC derby clash with the Dragons.
Two test events were staged there in recent weeks with Swansea playing a couple of Super Rygbi Cymru matches as the capacity was slowly increased.
The new west stand was used for the first time last Thursday as Cardiff RFC were the visitors and the terrace will be open for the Ospreys’ showdown against the Dragons on Saturday.
That will take the capacity up to around 5,000, with every ticket having been snapped up for the game.
Herculean effort
Ospreys managing director Richard Lancaster says it has been a Herculean effort to get the venue ready in time.
“The reality is we only started the work on the ground in June,” he said.
“What has been achieved in such a short period of time is nothing short of spectacular.
“There’s an unbelievable amount of people that have worked around the clock to get the ground ready.
“It’s been like four weeks of DIY SOS here!
“Swansea played here against Ebbw Vale a week or so ago and we had about 1,200 through the gates. We were up to about 3,000 for their game against Cardiff last Thursday night which was good.
“We have sold 5,000 tickets for the Dragons game and the capacity will increase again for the Cardiff Rugby match the following week and so on.
“It’s immensely gratifying to see the ground in the state it’s in now. We are delighted with the work that’s been done. It’s fantastic.
“It definitely couldn’t have been done without the help and support of those at Swansea council who have supported us and invested in the facility.
“With time, we will continue to improve the ground. We’ve got aspirations for a second and third phase, to increase the capacity and build on the facilities that you see here now.”
Game changer
Lancaster says moving to St Helen’s is a real game changer for the Ospreys.
“The reality is our income streams have been based around ticket sales and sponsorship previously,” he explained.
“The Swansea.com was owned by Swansea City.
“The difference here is that food and beverage, hospitality, non-match day, all that revenue comes to the Ospreys and that is transformative for our balance sheet.
“We have seen sponsors come back that haven’t been involved in years.
“Our season tickets are absolutely through the roof. We have more than doubled our season ticket holders.
“We are absolutely delighted.”
On a personal note, he added: “I am a Swansea boy, I have grown up here.
“I was a Swansea RFC supporter for years, I was a ball boy here, I played for the club, I got to coach the club.
“I loved my time at the ground and what we are seeing now is people who enjoyed that era of rugby coming back and wanting to get involved. It’s fantastic.
“It’s a great home for the Ospreys. A home is something we’ve never had to call our own.
“But more than that, it’s a community facility.
“It’s a beacon of rugby for all of the region.
“We will have 25 community clubs in with us for the Dragons game and we want to continue that.”
The Ospreys have had a challenging start to the season having to play their first four matches away from home while work continued at St Helen’s, including trips to South Africa and Georgia.
But they will go into this weekend’s landmark fixture buoyed by back-to-back victories.
Having beaten the Dragons at Rodney Parade in BKT URC Round 3, they then claimed another bonus point victory over Black Lion in Tbilisi in last weekend’s EPCR Challenge Cup opener.
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