EPL side Swansea City has opened talks to buy the Liberty Stadium, the city council has confirmed, according to the PA. Swansea currently shares the council-owned stadium with rugby union side the Ospreys through a 50-year lease. Swansea was a third-tier side when the stadium opened in '05 but "they have since established themselves in the top flight and are keen to increase the capacity of the 20,800 venue." Swansea council leader Rob Stewart said, "Positive, exploratory discussions with the Swans have now started about selling the Liberty Stadium to them. This would give the Swans complete control of the stadium and further support their expansion plans in future, but it’s important we protect the needs of the Ospreys too." Stewart said that Swansea council had to make savings of £81M ($123.6M) over the
next three years and "the sale of the Liberty Stadium is expected to
raise funds somewhere in the region" of £20 ($30.5M) to £25M ($38M). Swansea has held talks about potential external funding with the American businessmen John Jay Moores and Charles Noell "possibly taking a significant stake in the club for their investment." But the Swansea City Supporters Trust, which owns more than 21% of the club's shares, is "opposed to any change in the club's ownership" (PA, 2/10).
