Liberty Stadium: Swansea City in talks to take control, says club official

Chris Pearlman was appointed in October 2016

Swansea City are in talks to "take control" of the Liberty Stadium by leasing their home ground.

Swansea council built the £27m stadium where Swansea and the Ospreys rugby team have played since 2005.

The Swans and the Ospreys currently pay rent to the Swansea Stadium Management Company (SSMC) - a partnership between the council and two clubs.

Under the new deal, Swansea would run the stadium, increasing the scope for stadium expansion and renaming.

According to the club's chief operations officer, Chris Pearlman, the "current stadium arrangement puts Swansea City at a competitive disadvantage compared to other Premier League teams".

Writing in the match programme for the Swans' match against Burnley on Saturday, Pearlman said he hoped the new agreement would:

• Allow the Ospreys to continue to play their games at the Liberty Stadium "under a structure more financially favourable to them moving forward than the current deal would otherwise be".

• Allow taxpayers in the area "to receive revenue from the stadium for the first time ever".

• Give the Swans "the ability to control our own destiny and stay competitive with other Premier League clubs by tapping into new revenue streams".

Swansea's American owners have held unofficial talks with the council since they bought the club last summer.

Councillors hope a deal could be struck before May's council elections.