Fans fears over stadium

Cardiff City chairman Sam Hamman has met Cardiff Council leader Russell Goodway about the planned new stadium. The £32million venture will see a 30,000-seater stadium built in Leckwith or Ely. Work on the Cardiff stadium could begin within 18 months and be completed in time for the 2003-4 season.

Meanwhile there are fears for Swansea’s £35million 25,000-seater Morfa Stadium development. Swans owners Ninth Floor have threatened to pull out of the deal if they cannot reach agreement with the council on the way the stadium project will be run.

Today Swans fans warned there would be many angry supporters if Cardiff got its stadium and Morfa did not go ahead.

“This is a clear example of the laid back small town attitude of Swansea Council,” claimed David Morgan, spokesman for the Independent Travelling Swansea soccer fans.

“Cardiff is a forward-thinking council which has an idea and goes for it. The Morfa Stadium saga has been going on for around 10 years but Swansea Council has been too laid back to push it forward. “Businesses such as Ikea are going to see what’s going on and plump for Cardiff- we need more people with business knowledge as councillors instead of the people we have at present.”

Supporter Ben Charles, of Cwmdonkin Terrace, Uplands, said: “We have waited and waited, been given promise after promise and date after date. “But nothing has happened and now it looks like our historical rivals could beat us to it.

There will be thousands of angry fans if this happens and they will be knocking down the council’s doors because they are bringing the whole city down.” But Swansea Council leader Mike Hedges claimed everything was on course for the stadium to open for the start of the 2002-3 season. “The scheme will go before the council for approval on January 29,” he said.

“Then the Assembly has 30 days in which to call it in and we have no control over that. “But the Cardiff scheme will have to go through the same planning process as us and there is no way it will he built before our stadium.

“As for Ninth Floor, they have nothing to pull out of. The scheme is being funded by private investors who are more interested in the commercial venture next to the stadium.”