WORK BEGINS AT LIBERTY
SWANSEA City have said work is being carried out at their Liberty Stadium home after concerns were raised about the state of the white metal structure 15 years after it was built.
Images taken outside the stadium recently revealed the shocking state of the large metal struts, which appear to show signs of rust and other deterioration.
Currently, no fans are allowed in to watch any football or rugby matches due to coronavirus restrictions. That has been the case since matches were postponed in March, and after they resumed in June. It was hoped that some fans would be allowed back into sporting stadiums at some point in the autumn, but those hopes have now been dashed due to the second wave of Covid-19 across the country, and the spectre of a second national lockdown is looming.
Swansea City said work to improve the appearance of the Liberty Stadium was due to be carried out earlier this year but had to be postponed due to the pandemic.
The club insisted that work had now started on one side of the stadium’s exterior, and that the rest was scheduled to be completed in 2021.
The stadium, which opened in 2005, has in recent years been at the centre of a legal row involving the company that managed it and Swansea Council.
The stadium’s operator, Swansea Stadium Management Company – now wholly owned by Swansea City FC – took action against Swansea Council, which built the stadium, and the main contractor, Interserve Construction Ltd, but the action was dismissed following a twoweek High Court hearing in 2018.
Swansea Stadium Management Company had alleged that the original stadium works were defective and in breach of the contractual specification, and that there was corrosion to exposed steel structural elements as a result of “paint delamination”.
The claims were struck out and Swansea Council eventually clawed back £130,000 in costs.
Regarding the appearance of the stadium’s exterior, a Swansea City spokesman said: “We can confirm that the work which is being undertaken on the external paintwork at the Liberty Stadium is in line with our obligations under the stadium lease.
“This maintenance work was always scheduled for this year and would have taken place through the spring and summer period, but unfortunately it had to be delayed due to Covid-19 restrictions. Contractors are currently making good progress on the stadium’s South Stand and there is a plan in place for the continuance of the works across the other stands through next year.”