Image source, Huiw Evans agencyByPhilip MarshBBC Sport Wales- Published36 minutes ago
Ospreys and Swansea Council have reaffirmed plans for the rugby team to return play at St Helen's from the beginning of next season and leave their temporary home at Electric Brewery Field in Bridgend.
The proposals will be discussed at a council cabinet meeting on Wednesday, 25 March.
If the proposals are approved, work could commence next month in readiness for the 2026-27 season.
Moving to St Helen's would make it Ospreys' third home venue in as many seasons, having left the Swansea.com Stadium to play in Bridgend for this campaign.
The wish to make the traditional home of rugby in Swansea their team's base for 2026-27 comes as Swansea Council and Ospreys fans fight Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) plans to cut the nation's professional tier from four to three teams.
The WRU has given Ospreys owners Y11 Sport & Media until Wednesday, 22 April to negotiate their proposed takeover of Cardiff.
That scenario has led to legal action, protests and the possibility of WRU chair Richard Collier-Keywood being the subject of a vote of no confidence at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) of the governing body on Monday, 13 April.
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Swansea Council approved plans for redeveloping the ground in August 2025.
In a fresh statement issued by Ospreys and the local authority, they announced a proposal for a new Swansea Rugby Community Board to ensure the redevelopment delivers maximum benefit for local people.
The statement added: "Alun Wyn Jones, the former Wales and British and Irish Lions captain, has agreed to work with the council to ensure the collaboration maximises the benefits for grassroots rugby and the community."
Council leader Rob Stewart said: "The future of St Helen's has been on hold due to ongoing discussions about regional rugby in Wales which are unlikely to end anytime soon.
"The WRU is not giving us the answers we need to move forward despite our requests, such as how Y11 can own two teams for a long period of time. In light of the impending EGM, I doubt the WRU knows where it is going.
"We must break that deadlock in the meantime and find how we can move forward as a city despite the WRU's lack of answers.
"We propose to create a new model that strengthens both professional and grassroots rugby across Swansea and the Ospreys region."
