The Landore-based ground has been the Ospreys home since the 2005/6 season after ground sharing their first two years of existence as a region at Swansea’s St Helens ground and the Gnoll in Neath.
Not for the first time in recent years, however, there have been talks of a move to new pastures outside of SA1.
Whilst plans to re-develop St Helens last year and 2019 rumours of a sports hub in Llandarcy have fizzled out, this is the first time a senior figure within the region has actively spoken publicly about a future move.
Bradley this week held talks with landlords Swansea City Football Club to get the process rolling. At the top of the discussion was the Swansea.com Stadium’s capacity of over 20,000.
With the Ospreys only pulling a quarter of the total, the former Gloucester supremo is concerned and believes there is a need to move to scale down for atmospheric and connection purposes to supporters and it needs to be resolved sooner rather than later.
“This is a fantastic stadium but it’s too big for us,” said Bradley.
“One of the things I’m keen to let people know is that we are looking at moving to a different stadium.
“We need to have a look at getting somewhere where we can have proper interactions with fans and create an amazing atmosphere. It’s very important.
“I met with the management of Swansea City to talk about it before I talked to anyone else about it.
“They were supportive of what we’re trying to do, it’s encouraging. We wouldn’t want to do anything that would upset our landlord and long-time partner.
“We want to find somewhere in this region where we can become the hub of the community for fans and for local businesses. We need to have a stadium where we can do that.”
It has long been discussed by the support of both the major clubs involved in the pre-regional rugby merger – Neath and Swansea – that a ground should be closer or indeed at their previous homes.
That’s before even entering the factor of lost support of the region isolated from the catchment area of the Welsh Valleys. Both venues mentioned have been touted as options to host Ospreys games in future but would need major redevelopments and significant funding but are sentimentally held dear with memories of yesteryear.
The Ospreys switch of venue, all be it due to a clash of fixture with the Swans on New Year’s Day proved to be a popular decision, with an entertaining ‘old school’ South Wales Derby against Cardiff enjoyed by all at Bridgend’s Brewery Field despite challenging conditions.
The occasion attracted a sell-out crowd of more than 8,000 supporters old and new and inspired both those watching and, on the pitch, to put on an occasion worth forking out for. The question is though, would a cold Friday night against Benetton have a similar attraction?
“I will be doing some work with my team on the viability of a few different sites, so we can make the best possible decision for the club, the fans and local businesses,” continued Bradley.
“It’s a bit of a two-way street. There’s lots of things we can do for fans, and we will do. The biggest thing we’re doing is putting on entertaining rugby.
“We need to make it easier for fans to engage with us, but we also need fans to engage. That means we need more fans through the turnstiles. If we start to see that, that will give us the confidence to progress to a more suitable stadium.”
It sounds like it is very much like smoke without fire for now once again and perhaps a dabble into the water to measure the supporter’s reaction. In challenging times for regions financially, a solution outside of the box, however, might well be the solution and could that even lie further West should also be considered into the thinking. For now, Bradley’s transparency will be crucial in achieving the two-way street talked about.
[Lead image: Ospreys Rugby]
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