Morfa On Shaky Ground

If Ninth Floor decides to go it would also put the Swans up for sale. After four years of negotiating with Swansea Council Ninth Floor is now closer than ever before to withdrawing from the project.

The final straw appears to be a statement made by Swansea cabinet member for development Byron Owen two weeks ago in which he said the council would retain full ownership of the new 25 000 seater Morfa stadium. Councillor Owen said the Swans and Swansea RFC would only be involved in managing the facility it would remain in public ownership.

But today a Ninth Floor insider has told the Evening Post the company has invested £4 5 million in the stadium project and the Swans. If Morfa was not allowed to make money for the company’s shareholders it would have to consider whether to continue being involved.

In a statement today Ninth Floor chief executive and Swansea City chairman Neil McClure said Ninth Floor plc formerly Silver Shield has made an enormous investment in ensuring that the concept of a new Morfa Stadium becomes a reality. To get to this point has taken four years hard work and literally millions of pounds. This money has not come from Swansea Council but from Ninth Floor plc.

The money has been spent getting the Morfa project to where it is today and ensuring that there is still a Swansea City Football Club left to move into the stadium. The whole process has been about investing in sport investing in football and investing in Swansea and it is the shareholders of this company who have been making that investment In the most basic terms we need to see a return on our investment.

If we can no longer see that the investment will generate a return then that investment will stop. It is now for Swansea Council to determine whether Morfa will work and for that to happen they will have to pay very close attention to the commercial realities of the situation for all the parties concerned and for ourselves especially. Swansea Council development director Craig Andersen said today.

This is news to us especially as we currently work actively with both clubs on the stadium design and meet with them almost on a weekly basis.