What a Liberty! It's not fine for fans

25 January 2006 - Western Mail

YOU pay your £15 entry fee, £3 for a programme ... and after the match hand over £30 for your parking fine.

That is the kind of match day more than 500 Swansea City and Ospreys fans have been "treated to" so far this season at the club's 20,000-seater new Liberty Stadium. That's a total £15,000 in fines so far. Plus several fans' illegally-parked cars have been towed away leading to sums of around £100 being paid to recover them from pounds.

Many have criticised the stadium's limited available parking but operators Stadco pointed out it has organised park and ride services so fans can access the stadium. But there are still many who have parked in residential streets in nearby places like Hafod or Morriston, leading to rich pickings for police and parking wardens.

At the club's last home game against Hartlepool last Saturday, police said one car was towed away and 28 drivers received fixed penalty notices. A quick calculation makes that almost £1,000.

The action came after police received a surge in complaints from residents about the number of illegally-parked cars on match days over the last few months. Police said the car towed away last Saturday was causing a considerable obstruction.

Some fans say they try to use the council's park and ride but add that on Saturdays buses are reserved for shoppers and head for the city centre, not Liberty Stadium.

Swans supporter Nigel Davies, editor of the fanzine A Touch Far Vetched, criticised the parking situation yesterday, saying some enterprising people living near the ground offered £5 for "watched car parking" on their private property.

He said, "It was inevitable this would happen and parking fines have become a cash cow for the police. A long-term solution must be the building of a multi-storey car park which would also provide money for the council. Or possibly a rail link directly to the ground which was part of the original transport plan but which has now been forgotten about.

"Some fans have complained about break-ins when they park in legal spots around the ground, so security is an issue too. For the elderly supporters, how can they park a few miles away and walk? It's been badly thought out."

But South Wales Police say last weekend's fixed penalty figures were lower than those of earlier matches showing "some drivers had listened to the message". They totalled 47 in the previous game - raising around £1,400.

Chief Inspector Keith Bowman said, "The Liberty Stadium operators and other partners have been working very hard to provide extra parking spaces during match days and with an extra 450 parking spaces provided last Saturday, there is no excuse for parking in areas other than legal spaces.

"The towing was one of our last resorts and we don't implement this policy unless absolutely necessary. We will keep the towing scheme as an option for any future games. However, the most important message we would like to send to match visitors is that they should use designated parking areas provided by the stadium and local authority."

FOOTBALL FAN COULD SUE STADIUM BOSSES

6 January 2006

An angry Swansea football fan is considering suing bosses at the city's new £27 million stadium.
He says their decision to scrap a park and ride service from the west of the city to the Liberty Stadium goes against their travel plan for getting fans to the ground.

John Jones, of Baglan, said that when the stadium at Landore was being planned and concerns were raised about the lack of parking, developers argued that three park and ride services would ferry supporters from different parts of the city.

When the stadium first opened, three were set up. But that has now fallen to two, with the axing of the service from the Recreation Ground next to St Helen's.

StadCo, the stadium management company, stopped the service and asked fans to use regular service buses, arguing it would mean quicker journey times.

But fans have been left angry and waiting for buses for up to three-quarters of an hour after matches, as thousands queue for a ride home.Mr Jones says he cannot understand the decision to stop the popular service.

He said: "I am a bit frustrated by what is going on. I have been told it was the stadium's decision to axe the service.

"I did talk to the stadium and they said that they wanted to offer the best facilities for supporters so they had decided to dispense with the park and ride.

"They felt it would be better if the supporters had free parking at County Hall and got the number 54 bus."

But Mr Jones says the new system just is not working.

He said: "Why have they stopped what was a good thing? It was such an effective system. The main problem with the latest idea is coming back. People go up in dribs and drabs but when we come out of the ground we are talking about hundreds of people at the same time."

Mr Jones want to know the reasons behind the decision and said he was considering legal action.

He said: "That is what I am exploring, I think I have been badly done by, and thousands of others.

"Their website still says there is a park and ride in the west of the city on their travel plan. That document doesn't make any exceptions. It said the philosophy of the stadium was to provide park and ride.

"I am aggrieved they have reneged on their promise to provide park and ride facilities."

A spokeswoman for Swansea Council said no planning conditions had been broken.

She said: "The travel plan is the subject of ongoing review and all other conditions have been, or are being, complied with."

A spokesman for the stadium management company said: "The original planning conditions for the stadium required the production of a travel plan, which has been fully complied with.

"In fact, this plan is continually reviewed and updated to take into account the evolving needs of the stadium and its visitors."

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.

CLUB'S PLEA FOR FANS TO REDUCE COSTS

3 November 2005

The cost of policing football matches at the new Liberty Stadium is the equivalent of two new players a season for Swansea City, it emerged today. Fans are now being asked to do their bit to keep the cost of patrolling games down amid fears that the club could be forced to spend an extra £50,000 on security fencing.

The club is already handing over £5,000 a game to the police to cover the cost of watching over the crowds - the equivalent of £100,000 every season.

Now Swans bosses have issued a plea to their supporters asking them to be on their best behaviour.The fans' own goal is infuriating them.

Huw Jenkins, the club's chairman, said he would rather be spending the money on new players.

But he warned that the price of security could go up unless fans did their bit to help prevent trouble.

He said: "At the Vetch Field, we had what can only be described as natural segregation of fans because of the close proximity of the houses and streets in the area.

"Now we have a totally different set-up and one that's a little more difficult to manage.

"This season's policing costs so far are roughly £5,000 per game and throughout the season this will equate to over £100,000.

"A large proportion of this cost relates to the policing of a few hundred away fans to and from the stadium for each game. These costs could perhaps be reduced if we had the help and cooperation of our supporters in allowing the away-fans to quickly leave the stadium.

"While inside the stadium we certainly want to generate an intimidating but trouble-free atmosphere for the visiting fans - outside the stadium we need the help of our fans.

"Swansea City Football Club does not want to spend extra money on external fencing which could cost us £50,000.

"Also, if the policing charges continue to rise at such a high level, there can be no doubt the club will be asked to pay more into stadium managers StadCo to offset some of these charges.

"Please help us to minimise these extra costs with our new stadium which in turn will allow us to spend more money on our playing squad."

LET'S IGNORE NEW NAME

24 October 2005

Well, well, so we now have a name for our new stadium - and what a boring, insipid, uninspiring, weak offering it has turned out to be.

Messrs Holley and Clement may be crowing about it from the comfort of County Hall but the sad reality is that yet again a local authority in Swansea has taken little notice of what a great many of its rate-paying, vote-casting residents want. It has taken the first (and most probably the only) offer that has come its way in relation to the stadium naming rights. The stadium is already a massive hit with Swans fans and most certainly will play a huge part in helping the club move up the divisions.

However, the process of seeking a main sponsor has been as farcical as a Brian Rix production where, unfortunately, the perennially funny trouser-dropping part has been replaced with a most embarrassing clanger-dropping scene.

It has taken the council a year since declaring the stadium clean, to accept a paltry offer from a local company of no renown and has left supporters of both codes, and not least the people of Swansea, with a five-year legacy of blandness.

The sponsorship deal says nothing good about Swansea and clearly illustrates that the council was so desperate to finalise the deal - any deal - that it has sold the rights to the city's flagship stadium down the Tawe.

I cannot comment on the financial effect that the deal will have on the Ospreys or indeed on council coffers, but as a Swans fan I certainly believe that it will make little difference at all to that club and will likely be swallowed up in any event within that inefficient, non fan-friendly entity that is StadCo.

I sincerely hope that wherever and whenever possible, media organisations refrain from using the name and that the people of Swansea show their disdain by ignoring it too.

I am sure that the vast majority of Swans fans will continue to refer to the stadium by its well-liked, strong name of White Rock.As for the council, it may yet rue the day when it chose (yet again) to ignore public opinion. Registered voters have long memories.

Paul Morris, Parcgwernfadog, Ynysforgan, Swansea

WHAT'S THE GOING PRICE OF LIBERTY?

19 October 2005

Bosses at Swansea's £27 million super-stadium are refusing to say exactly how much they have sold the naming rights for. The Post yesterday exclusively revealed the showpiece ground at Landore will be known as The Liberty Stadium. But bosses are refusing to put a precise figure on the deal.

Instead they have given what they say is a ballpark figure of around £500,000. Swansea-based property developer Liberty Properties has signed a five-year deal for the rights to have its name emblazoned on the new 20,000-seat stadium.

With the stadium home to division one high-fliers Swansea City and the Ospreys regional rugby team, The Liberty Stadium will receive extensive media coverage.

Head of stadium management firm StadCo, Councillor Gerald Clement, and Liberty Properties director Philip Morris were asked to put an exact figure on the deal at a press conference held to announce the deal.

But they refused to do so, citing commercial confidentiality." £500,000 is a ballpark figure," said Councillor Clement. Mr Morris also declined to put a precise figure on the deal, saying it was "in excess of £500,000".

He would give no details. The stadium is the first in Wales to be sponsored.The deal follows months of wrangling over what it should be called. During construction it was known as White Rock. Then it took on the bland-sounding title of The New Stadium Swansea.

Now it will carry the name The Liberty Stadium.But the £500,000 figure falls far short of the £800,000 deal that was talked about earlier in the year. In March a council spokesman 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."

Yesterday's press conference was told the £800,000 figure had included items such as the sponsorship of individual stands and hospitality suites, not just the naming of the stadium. A £500,000, five-year-deal would net StadCo £100,000 per year, which Councillor Clement said was in line with the stadium's business plan. Earlier this year the council loaned StadCo £2 million. Councillor Clement said the £100,000 per year income was what was expected when the loan was made. Both parties declared themselves happy with the deal.

Several companies were thought to be in the running for the deal and Councillor Clement confirmed that Liberty had offered the most cash."It was the best net offer," he said.

The deal will run for the next five years. During the final 12 months of the arrangement negotiations will start on extending the deal.

"It was an initial bid of five years," said Mr Morris. "We expect the five years to become 10 years."

Council leader Chris Holley said a five-year-deal was the right one for the stadium because its value might increase during that period and StadCo could get a better deal in future."It is quite right that both parties have the right to renegotiate the deal," he said.

"I think StadCo are quite right to have gone for a short-term deal that they can renegotiate later."

It was also confirmed at the press conference that StadCo is still in negotiation with various organisations about the sponsorship of other elements within the stadium.

"We are still talking to interested parties," said Councillor Clement.

Mr Morris added: "Our sponsorship is for the naming of the stadium and does not impinge on the stadium seeking other sponsors."

Sports fans yesterday gave the thumbs up to the name.

Geraint Clark, of Stanley Terrace, Mount Pleasant, said: "It sounds impressive. I think it's something people will remember.''

Huw Jones, of Drumau Park, Skewen, said: "The main thing is, it is a name that will last.''

Stadium sponsorship has become a regular feature of football in recent years. Clubs eager for funds to plough into the transfer market have looked to businesses to boost their bank accounts, in return for a big plug sponsoring a stadium box stand or the ground's name itself.

In 1997 the Britannia Building Society paid £1.3 million up front to sponsor Stoke City for 10 years. The cash was used to help build the club's new £14.7 million stadium. The deal has recently been renewed between the building society and the team, for a reported similar sum. Current Coca-Cola Division One leaders Huddersfield Town played at the McAlpine Stadium for 10 years after a deal was struck between the club and construction company Alfred McAlpine over the building of the new ground.

Pharmaceutical firm Galpharm has become the latest company to sponsor the ground, a deal thought to be worth around £100,000 a year.

Welcome to the new Liberty Stadium

Oct 19 2005
Paul Rowland, Western Mail

BEING called Liberty has never caused a certain New York statue too many problems, but supporters groups yesterday gave the new title of Swansea's flagship stadium a decidedly lukewarm welcome.

The ground will be known as The Liberty Stadium after locally- based property developers Liberty Properties yesterday signed a five-year deal worth £500,000 to sponsor the shared home of Swansea City and the Ospreys.

But fans of Swansea City, who have been based at the ground since leaving the Vetch Field at the end of last season, were yesterday unimpressed with the new moniker.

Phil Sumbler, of the Swansea City Supporters Trust, claimed the new name "could have been a lot better", and said fans would have preferred council chiefs to stick with the working title of White Rock Stadium.

Mr Sumbler also revealed he was disappointed with the financial terms of the deal, with the tie-up bringing in little more than £100,000 a season.

"It's very disappointing that it's taken this long to come up with a name, and to be honest, it's a pretty low amount of money for the naming of a stadium," he said.

"Having said that, it could have been a lot worse - we could have ended up with some farcical name. To a lot of supporters the stadium will still retain the name White Rock anyway - people are still referring to it as that. It's hard to say how things will work out, but in my view White Rock is far more powerful.

"But at least Liberty won't create a laughing stock immediately and there are other plus points with Liberty being a local company which is run by local people who have an interest in the club.

"It could have been worse, but it could have been a lot better. What we've got is a five-year deal, but if Liberty want to be involved after five years, we have to rethink it again.

"If there was a title in there, something like the Liberty White Rock Stadium, the sponsor could have been renewed and the name could have been kept, but that's not what's happened."
Ron Knuszka, the trust's chairman, said financial considerations had forced the selection of a corporate name, but urged stadium bosses to incorporate the heritage of the area, and the club, into the stadium in other ways.

"There are compromise possibilities," he added.

"If they can't introduce White Rock into the title, I would have thought they could give some consideration to using the name for some part of the ground, be it a street, a stand or a bar.
"There are options available for introducing some history into the stadium. The history of a football club is extremely important. We have got to go forward, but a name is extremely important for fans to use and be proud of."

But Scott Gibbs, the former Wales and Ospreys star, who now works as Liberty's development manager, said it was time thestadium had a fitting name.

"There have been so many working titles attributed to the stadium, it's good that that's been finally put aside and the stadium has a name that can take it forward," he said.

"It's a fairly distinctive brand name, and also a strong corporate title, so we're hoping that will be reflected on the field - more so with the Ospreys than the Swans, because they're already up the top of the league!"

New Stadium Scores With Liberty Properties

Press Statement by Councillor Chris Holley

From today Swansea’s new stadium will be known as The Liberty Stadium after property company, Liberty Properties Plc, signed a sponsorship deal to secure the naming rights for the £27million facility.

The deal, which is understood to be in excess of £500,000, means that the 20,200-seat home of the Swans and the Ospreys will be known as The Liberty Stadium for the next five years.

Liberty Properties is one of the UK’s leading commercial property development and investment company specialising in office, retail and leisure schemes. With offices in Swansea, Chester and London, Liberty operates throughout the UK and has a current development programme worth in excess of £150million, with an additional £150million of projects planned for the next 12 months. Renowned for its pioneering and innovative approach, Liberty has developed some of the UK’s most cutting-edge and prestigious commercial property developments. It is, therefore, seen as the ideal brand fit for the flagship stadium.

The board of the Stadium Management Company considered a shortlist of bids after an official tendering process which saw interest from a wide range of national and international companies. The agreement with Liberty was signed today at the stadium by Chairman of the Stadium Management Company, Cllr Gerald Clement, and Director of Liberty Properties, Philip Morris.

Chairman of Swansea Stadium Management Company, Gerald Clement, said: “We’re delighted to announce that Liberty Properties have signed a five-year deal to be associated with Wales’ top regional stadium. We have been working very hard to find the right top name sponsor and we are thrilled to have Liberty Properties as our partner.

“Liberty Properties is a market leader in its field and is, therefore, the ideal partner for the stadium and we look forward to working closely with them. Liberty is a strong, confident name in its own right and offers us all the right positive associations. I’m confident that The Liberty Stadium will soon become a watch word amongst sporting fans for the very best in sporting and entertainment facilities.”

Liberty Properties Development Manager, Scott Gibbs, said: “We’re tremendously proud and excited to be investing in the new stadium in Swansea. We saw the chance to sponsor such a flagship stadium as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the company. We’re a national company but our roots are firmly based in Swansea and so we’re thrilled to be able to support and celebrate such an important landmark for the area. From a business perspective, the partnership works to reinforce our progressive and innovative values, and the naming will also help raise awareness of the Liberty brand and provide us with the ideal launch platform for us as we prepare to diversify into more consumer-focused markets.”

Leader of City and County of Swansea, Councillor Chris Holley, said: “The Council is delighted that the right sponsor has been secured to give the Stadium a strong and distinctive new name. The Liberty Stadium will be a beacon for sporting success in South Wales and indeed throughout the UK.

“As Wales’ top regional sporting venue, Liberty Stadium will shine out as a landmark that will be the envy of many other towns and cities throughout Britain. It was never in doubt that the Stadium would get a top name sponsor and I am even more pleased that a Swansea-based national property company has come forward. I know that Liberty Stadium will become a name associated with all that is great about rugby, football and Swansea.”

The concept of a sponsor being given naming rights to a stadium is fairly new to the UK but has been common practice in the US for some time, with companies paying big amounts to have baseball and American football stadiums named after them.

Improbably, the first ground in the UK to be names after its sponsor was Scarborough’s stadium, which was named after the frozen chips company McCain’s, while Bolton Wanderers’ new ground was christened the Reebok Stadium when it opened its gates in 1997. Wigan’s JJB Stadium houses the city’s football club and rugby league team, and is named after the sports retail chain.

Ends.

STADIUM GETS A NAME AT LAST!

18 October 2005

Swansea's £27 million new stadium finally has a new name and sponsor. Sports fans in the city have a new place to call home - the Liberty Stadium. The Post can today reveal city-based developers Liberty Properties has been unveiled as the new sponsor for the home of both Swansea City and the Ospreys.

The six figure deal, thought to be worth in excess of £500,000, finally draws a line under the saga of what the stadium will be called. Football and rugby fans in the city have waited more than 14 months to learn what the Morfa stadium would be called after the popular tag of White Rock was dropped.

Council bosses said they wanted a blank slate in a bid to attract a new sponsor and simply called the ground The New Stadium Swansea.

But that is now in the past as Liberty, which has offices in the enterprise park as well as London and Chester, has been confirmed as the new headline sponsors for the stadium for the next five years.

Scott Gibbs, Liberty's development manager, said: "We're tremendously proud and excited to be investing in the new stadium in Swansea.

"We saw the chance to sponsor such a flagship stadium as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the company.

"We're thrilled to be able to support and celebrate such an important landmark for the area.

"Stadium bosses said there were a number of national and international companies interested in sponsoring the stadium.Councillor Gerald Clement, chairman of stadium management firm StadCo, signed the deal today.

He said: "We're delighted to announce that Liberty Properties has signed a five-year deal to be associated with Wales's top regional stadium."We have been working very hard to find the right top name sponsor and we are thrilled to have Liberty Properties as our partner.

"Liberty is a strong, confident name in its own right and offers us all the right positive associations.

"I'm confident that the Liberty Stadium will soon become a watchword among sporting fans for the very best in sporting and entertainment facilities."S

wansea Council leader Chris Holley said there was never a doubt that a sponsor would be found for the stadium.

He said: "I know that Liberty Stadium will become a name associated with all that is great about rugby, football and Swansea."It is not known who the other bidders in the naming race were, although at one stage communications company ntl and motor dealership FRF were thought to be interested.

One Swans fan said today: "It is good news and a strong name for the future."