Ospreys and council aim to reach St Helen's deal

Ospreys and Swansea council say they are assessing options to ensure the rugby club will play at St Helen's next season.

The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) announced last week that Ospreys' owners, Y11 Sport and Media, were chosen as the preferred bidders to buy rival Welsh side Cardiff.

This has created uncertainty surrounding the prospects of the Ospreys, with guarantees only given about their future as a professional side until the end of the 2026-27 season.

There was a public spat between Swansea council and the rugby governing bodies last week, but a joint statement has now been issued in order to start solving the problem of where Ospreys will play home games for the 2026-27 season.

The statement, says "Ospreys, Y11 and Swansea council are continuing to work constructively to assess options for the Ospreys to play at St Helen's next season".

It adds that "ongoing discussions are centred on finding solutions that are realistic, sustainable and aligned with the best interests of rugby in Swansea, the local community and all stakeholders".

The different organisations claim "all parties share a clear ambition to secure the long‑term future of the Ospreys as a Swansea‑based regional team".

That sentence about being a "Swansea-based regional team" appears to have been carefully worded with no indication that will be as a professional or top-tier team continuing to play in the URC and Europe.

That guarantee has so far only been provided until the end of next season.

Ospreys are due to move into a redeveloped St Helen's ground in September after spending the 2024-25 season playing games in Bridgend.

Swansea council had previously urged the WRU and Ospreys to provide clarity about what will happen to the rugby side after the 2026-27 season.

The WRU wants to reduce the number of men's professional sides in Wales from four to three, which could be achieved by eliminating Ospreys through the takeover process.

Swansea council are due to put £5m into the project but says it will not release the funds until the Ospreys' future is secure.

The joint statement added: "In addition, Swansea council remains committed to the wider redevelopment of St Helen's, but this is dependent on confirmation the Ospreys will continue to compete as a top‑tier regional team at the venue well beyond 2027.

"Until that commitment is secured, partners will continue to explore what is possible to facilitate the Ospreys' return to the historic St Helen's ground next season.

"Both the Ospreys and Swansea council remain committed to open, constructive and ongoing dialogue."

Before the latest statement, relations between Swansea council and the rugby bodies had become fraught.

Swansea council had stated last Tuesday it was considering legal action before meeting with the WRU and Ospreys two days later.

After that meeting, Swansea council stated there was "a clear indication" the union "saw no viable future for the Ospreys within their new arrangements".

Swansea council called for the WRU board, including chief executive Abi Tierney, to consider their positions.

Ospreys chief executive Lance Bradley sent an email to staff on Thursday refuting the suggestion that his organisation had no "viable future".

On Sunday, Stewart and Swansea council responded by saying they "fully stand by the statement" and were continuing to explore all available options.

The council's statement added that it was "confident that when full details can be shared publicly, the email issued by the Ospreys will be shown to be inaccurate".

Stewart said that neither Ospreys nor the WRU could currently offer guarantees that the "Ospreys will be playing regional rugby in Wales as they do now" beyond next season.

He also said that those guarantees need to be provided "quickly for fans, players, staff and the public".

Stewart added that "more will be said on the matter later this week". More information was provided with this statement on Tuesday, although no resolution has been reached.