ST HELEN'S: Floodlights come down in dramatic drone footage as historic ground's transformation gathers pace

The floodlights that have stood over St Helen’s for decades are being taken down — and the Ospreys have captured the moment from the air.

The region has released striking drone footage showing a crane lifting away the floodlight pylons at the historic Swansea ground, with the pitch below stripped completely bare of turf.

In the video, workers can be seen high up the floodlight structures, using blowtorches to cut them apart as they are dismantled section by section.

A mobile crane beside a tall steel floodlight pylon at St Helen's stadium, Swansea, with the beach and Swansea Bay in the background under a grey sky. — A crane works to remove a floodlight pylon at St Helen’s, with Swansea Bay and the beach beyond. (Image: Ospreys Rugby)

The club said the lights were coming down this week as it prepares to lay the new pitch.

“The St Helen’s floodlights are coming down this week as we prepare the new pitch,” the Ospreys said, posting the message in both English and Welsh.

It is the latest visible stage in the transformation of St Helen’s into the Ospreys‘ new home — and follows the lifting of the ground’s famous turf earlier this month.

A steel floodlight pylon suspended by a crane at St Helen's stadium, Swansea, with the sweep of Swansea Bay and Mumbles headland behind. — One of the St Helen’s floodlight pylons is lifted clear by crane, with Mumbles Head across the bay. (Image: Ospreys Rugby)

An aerial view of St Helen's stadium in Swansea with the playing surface dug up to bare earth, a steel floodlight pylon and a mobile crane on site, terraced houses behind. — The pitch at St Helen’s stripped back, with one of the old floodlight pylons still standing as redevelopment work gets under way. (Image: Ospreys Rugby)

A top-down aerial view of a dismantled steel floodlight tower lying on bare ground at St Helen's, Swansea, with traffic and a double-decker bus passing on the road alongside. — A floodlight pylon lies on the ground after being taken down at St Helen’s, beside the busy Mumbles Road. (Image: Ospreys Rugby)

That historic soil was handed to grassroots rugby and sports clubs across the region, giving a piece of the old ground new life before the rebuild.

With the turf gone and now the floodlights, the site is being cleared for the new playing surface to be laid.

The redevelopment plans, unveiled in May, centre on a new South Stand and a redeveloped West Stand and terrace, along with a dedicated fan zone and expanded hospitality.

The work is being carried out in phases, so the club can still play at St Helen’s throughout the 2026/27 season while construction goes on around them.

It marks a remarkable turnaround for a club that, only months ago, was fighting for its very survival.

Swansea Council went to the High Court earlier this year to seek an injunction against a WRU restructuring it said would end the Ospreys, before the union performed a U-turn and the club’s future was secured.

The council has since committed its full £5.1m to redevelop St Helen’s as a community stadium and the Ospreys’ home.

St Helen’s is one of the most historic sports grounds in Wales, having hosted rugby and cricket at the highest level for well over a century — the stage for Gareth Edwards, Barry John and the great Wales sides of the 1970s.

The Ospreys will play their first season at the redeveloped ground in 2026/27.

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