CALL FOR HEAT AFTER GAME CANCELLATION AT STADIUM

30 December 2005

Swansea's £27 million Liberty Stadium is to be fitted with under-soil heating next summer. The issue was brought firmly into the spotlight after the Swans game there with Gillingham on Wednesday was frozen off.

And today manager Kenny Jackett revealed the £1 million pitch would be benefiting from an underground heating system.

"There is a cost of around £180,000 for under-soil heating to be fully installed and there are plans in place for that next summer," he said.

"You never get everything. There is not much missing at the Liberty Stadium, which is a fantastic arena.

"I don't know if it was an oversight. If it was they haven't left much out. It's a first-class stadium and whether you can do everything straightaway and bang on I am not sure.

"There have been very, very few teething problems but this is obviously one."

Plaid Cymru group leader on Swansea Council Darren Price will quiz the authority's ruling administration on why the stadium had not been equipped with under-soil heating.

"I am totally bemused with the fact that this stadium does not have the under-soil heating that so many top class stadia across the world have in this day and age," he said.

"It is very disappointing that this crucial game was called off, when most fans would probably have expected the stadium to have under-soil heating."

I had certainly taken for granted that an under-soil heating system was included as part of the package.

"There is no doubt in my mind that such a heating system should have been included in the stadium's design brief at the planning stage."

He added: "The costs involved with a postponed match are quite significant when you consider that the stadium, the teams involved, the council and the local police, not to mention the fans, all suffer some costs as a result.

"Balancing these aggregated losses against the initial outlay of an under-soil heating system would, in my view, put the initial cost into perspective.

"I would suggest that the payback period may be significantly shorter than people might think."

Wednesday's eagerly awaited West Wales rugby derby between Llanelli Scarlets and the Ospreys also fell victim to a frozen pitch at the last minute, much to the anger of the capacity 10,800 crowd which had packed into Stradey Park.

The Scarlets are due to move to a new 15,000 capacity state-of-the-art stadium at Pemberton for the 2007/08 season.

No details have yet been released as to whether it will have under-soil heating.