DAY OUT AT RACES DEFENDED

31 March 2005

Senior officials of the company in charge of Swansea's new sports stadium have defended a trip to Cheltenham Races. StadCo representatives spent a day at the races as guests of the stadium's new caterers.FMC has been given the contract for the as-yet-unnamed Landore facility which will be home to Swansea City and the Neath-Swansea Ospreys from next season.

An unofficial council monitoring website picked up on the trip, calling it a junket."Despite all the financial stringencies and safeguards at the stadium, it seems that junkets are an acceptable part of doing business," it said.

The site labelled the visit a jaunt and questioned the need for it.StadCo said its representatives were guests of FMC and the only cost was £20 for petrol.

Ashley Donlan, the stadium's corporate hospitality adviser, said: "When it opens this summer the new stadium will provide the best conference and corporate hospitality facilities in South Wales.

"In order to successfully anticipate the staffing numbers and structures required for this type of extremely high-pressure catering event, senior StadCo representatives were invited to learn from FMC's work at the Cheltenham Festival. These systems will now be adapted to the corporate hospitality facilities at the new Swansea stadium, ensuring that the venue will be offering the highest level of service and professionalism anywhere in Wales."

Loan deal for iconic stadium

Swansea Council Webiste
31 March 2005

Swansea Council’s Cabinet has agreed a £2m loan to help fitting-out costs at the city’s new stadium that’s on course for a summer opening.

The prestige home of Swansea Football Club and the Ospreys Rugby team will be one of the best venues for sport and culture in Wales.

Cabinet Member for Culture, Recreation and Tourism Gerald Clement said that the main contractor at the stadium would be handing over the building this month to Stadco, the company set up to manage it.

But in order to provide a fully complete stadium ready for use, Cabinet agreed that the council should loan Stadco £2m it needed for fit-out items including furniture, lockers, kitchen and other equipment.

Cllr Clement said, “In the original plan for the stadium there never was provision for the kitchen fit-out. It was envisiaged that an outside contractor would be given the catering contract and they would pay the cost of the kitchen.

“But by doing it this way Stadco will be able to maximise its returns on the operation of the kitchen which will be in the best interests of the long-term future of the stadium.”

Cllr Clement stressed that the loan was not interest-free, nor would there be a cost to the authority or council taxpayers. Income generated through sponsorship and other sources would be used to pay the loan and interest.

Cllr Clement said, “The stadium is going to give a massive boost to the sporting and cultural profile of Swansea. It’s being delivered on time and I’ve no doubt that it will deliver also on its rich promise as an landmark for our city.”

GROUND SMOKE SIGNAL DELAYED

30 March 2005

A Decision on whether to ban smoking at Swansea's new sports stadium has been put on hold. Officials in charge of the new Landore facility were due to have ruled on the issue this month.

But the board of Stadco, the company running the stadium, will not now decide for another six to eight weeks.

That will still leave plenty of time for the public to be informed of the smoking policy at the ground before it starts staging Swans football and Ospreys rugby matches next season.

Another decision yet to be taken - and one much- anticipated - is the naming of the stadium, formerly known as White Rock.

It is thought likely this will be revealed at the end of June, just weeks before it opens.

Official tenders invited for naming rights opportunity

15 March 2005 (Swansea Council Website)

The bidding process to find a sponsor to take on the naming rights for the 20,200 capacity new stadium is being formalised.

Sports marketing company Bastion have revealed details of the package, rumoured to be worth around a quarter of a million pounds per season.

Following tentative discussions with a number of major brands, Bastion is now inviting official tenders for the stadium’s ‘Naming Rights’ with a view to securing a headline sponsor.

In terms of comparable advertising value alone, the naming rights package is worth in excess of £500,000 per season. This includes full on-stadium branding, on-pitch advertising, access to stadium hospitality and conference suites, a corporate box, complimentary tickets, billboard advertising and full roadside signage. Both clubs also receive widespread media exposure, both in Wales and across the whole of the UK.

From 3Com Park in San Francisco to the Reebok Stadium in Bolton, major sponsors are buying the naming rights to the homes of successful sports teams. Already being heralded as one of the best in Europe, the new stadium at Swansea will be home to the city’s renowned rugby union and football sides - The Ospreys and Swansea City FC.

As well as being the UK’s first specially-built, dual-purpose, rugby union/football stadium, the venue also features a 30,000 capacity for music events, plus 29 corporate hospitality boxes and conference space for 1000 guests.

Ashley Donlan is Chief Executive of Bastion, the company which has been tasked with finding a sponsor to take on the naming rights said,

“The new stadium features some of the best facilities outside the FA Premiership and is the perfect home for two of Wales’ best sides. With more than 500,000 passionate fans expected to watch the Ospreys and the Swans next season, we’re looking to work with the right brand to ensure success both on and off the field. This is a huge opportunity for a major brand to really work with two highly ambitious clubs and become part of the city’s social fabric.”

The new stadium, completely enclosed with four covered stands merging to form one arena, has also installed some of the best facilities in the UK in order to attract new supporters, especially women and families.

As Donlan explains, “We’ve worked extremely hard to get this right from the state of the art pitch to the focus on providing all fans with a great match experience.”

For further information please contact Ashley Donlan of Bastion on 01792-480045 or 07968-240024.

ARENA CASH FLOW WORRIES DISMISSED

4 March 2005

Swansea Council has dismissed cash flow concerns at the city's new £27 million stadium. The authority has agreed a £2 million loan to StadCo, the company set up by the council and the city's football and rugby teams to manage the facility.

It will be used to buy equipment to fit out the stadium and cover the budgeted £800,000 that was expected to be generated through naming rights at the stadium.

This week an annual price tag of £250,000 was placed on the deal, raising concerns that there was a serious cash shortfall.

But a council spokesman played down the concerns.

He said: "The £800,000 is a total budget for the naming rights sale, not an annual figure."So it is entirely consistent with the quoted estimate of £250,000 per annum being our targeted value."

There have also been concerns about the security of the £2 million loan to StadCo.

A source at Swansea Council, who didn't want to be identified, said: "Some are worried that two of the three parties making up the company, the Swans and the Ospreys, have no sizeable assets so if StadCo was to fail to make the repayments only the council would have any worthwhile assets."

But the council spokesman insisted that public money was not at risk.

He said: "The loan from the council to StadCo will be at a full cost recharge rate, that is no cost to the council.

"The business plan for StadCo allows for the cost of payment of the loan repayments and interest. The detailed loan terms will ensure that the repayments and interest must be met by StadCo with a legal charge on the equipment in favour of the council.

"In the unlikely event of default on the payments, then the equipment would revert to the council."

Council bosses have also insisted there are no problems with the marketing of the stadium.

Bastion, the company now in charge of selling the naming rights, this week announced it was opening the bidding process and was expecting firm offers from major brands.

It says it expects to be able to name a headline sponsor by the end of June and said that the £250,000 price tag would buy £500,000 worth of advertising.

COUNCIL IN £2M LOAN TO EQUIP NEW GROUND

3 March 2005

Swansea's new stadium is being loaned £2 million by the council to help fit it out. Cash is needed to fully equip the new 20,200-seat ground in Landore ready for its summer opening.

The money will buy kitchen and bar equipment, lockers, furniture and other items.

The bulk of the cost will be met by the stadium's management company StadCo, which is made up of representatives from Swansea Council and the city's football and rugby clubs.

But the council will fund purchases with a £2 million interest-free loan to the company.

Money is needed because the overall cost of the scheme, which includes transferring sports facilities to other parts of the city, has risen to £43.4 million from the last estimate of £41.8 million.

A report to councillors says: "As is inevitable in a scheme of this size and complexity, a number of elements within the budget have needed variation with, as a consequence, some cost increases and some reductions.

"In addition, the budget for fit out has been found to be inadequate."Part of the £2 million loan will cover the £800,000 that has so far failed to materialise for naming rights at the stadium.

Bastion, the company in charge of selling the rights, has now invited official bids and hopes to have a main sponsor in place by the end of June. It says advertising rights could be worth around £500,000 a year.

The report to councillors said: "In order to provide the capital funding, it is proposed that the council make a loan to the company of up to £2 million repayable at no net costs to the council.

"This revised proposal places the risk of raising sponsorship income with the stadium management company and allows up to an additional £1.2 million of investment at no cost to the council.

"The loan will be over 20 years and will be secured on the equipment it buys but the report warned: "Nevertheless there is a remaining risk to the council should the company default on its repayments."

As well as the £2 million loan, Swansea Council has given £6.8 million to the scheme, £450,000 more than was originally planned.

The project will deliver the new stadium, which cost £27 million to build, including the cost of moving facilities from the old Morfa stadium to elsewhere in the city.

The new ground is expected to open in July.

WALES FRIENDLY MATCH AT NEW STADIUM UNDER THREAT

2 March 2005

Wales's proposed friendly with Slovenia to mark the opening of Swansea City's new stadium could be scrapped. The Evening Post understands there has been a disagreement over how proceeds from the game will be shared between the Football Association of Wales and Swansea.

But Vetch Field chairman Huw Jenkins is still hopeful John Toshack's men will play at Morfa as part of the new 20,000-seater stadium's opening celebrations.

"We're hopeful that Wales will play in Swansea," he said.

"It's just that things like this take a long time to sort out."Negotiations are on-going between ourselves and the FAW to try finalise a deal to bring international football to our new home."

Toshack's men will definitely play a friendly in August ahead of World Cup qualifiers against England and Poland in September.

FAW chiefs have indicated that Swansea would be the preferred venue, but the failure so far to rubber stamp the fixture has left them looking at other options.

"We have been offered friendlies abroad and it may be that we have to look elsewhere," said an FAW source.

"We all hope we can play at Swansea's new stadium - it would be terrible not to mark its opening with a Wales game.

"But something has to be sorted out soon.

"As time goes on, you would have say that the game is increasingly under threat."

Morfa venue seeks big name sponsor

Western Mail - 2 March 2005

£250K PRICE FOR NAME

2 March 2005

Developers of Swansea's new football and rugby stadium have put a £250,000 price tag on its naming rights. The consortium behind the £27 million stadium are inviting tenders from companies and hope to have a main sponsor in place by June 30 - a few weeks before it is expected to open.

Bosses say a number of well-known companies have already been in talks.Rumours of possible names have been circulating in fan's circles but nothing solid has emerged.Brewer Scottish Courage, which makes John Smith's bitter, has been in talks over supplying the stadium's bars but played down talk of naming the new ground.

The deal for naming rights is understood to include a range of different sponsorship opportunities ranging from £5,000 upwards. The entire package is worth £500,000 a year.It includes everything from on-stadium branding and on-pitch advertising to billboard advertising and road signs around the ground.

A specialist company, Bastion, has been brought in to get the best deal for the clubs and the council. It has already worked with Watford and Coventry football clubs in marketing their grounds.

The ground at Morfa originally had the working name of White Rock although this was dropped last year.

Ashley Donlan, Bastion's chief executive, said he was confident they could help secure a top name for Swansea's new home of sport.

He said: "The new stadium features some of the best facilities outside the FA Premiership and is the perfect home for two of Wales's best sides.

"With more than 500,000 passionate fans expected to watch the Ospreys and the Swans next season, we're looking to work with the right brand to ensure success both on and off the field.

"This is a huge opportunity for a major brand to really work with two highly ambitious clubs and become part of the city's social fabric.

"Major work on the 20,000 seat stadium is finished with specialists now being brought into fit out the facility and to seed the pitch.

The stadium will be home to both Swansea City Football Club and the Neath Swansea Ospreys. It will also host music concerts and other events.

Mr Donlan said: "We've worked extremely hard to get this right, from the state-of-the-art pitch to providing fans with a great match experience."

The first football ground in the UK to be named after its sponsor was Scarborough's stadium named after the frozen chip company McCain. Bolton Wanderers has the Reebok Stadium while Conference side York City has just renamed its ground Kit-Kat in a £100,000 sponsorship deal with the chocolate bar manufacturer

£250k price tag on stadium name

BBC Website - 1 March 2005