Ospreys: Chief executive Lance Bradley expects new home decision in May

Ospreys players thank the Bridgend crowd after victory against Sale

Chief executive Lance Bradley says he hopes to announce Ospreys' new home venue in May.

The region are planning to move away from the 20,500-capacity Swansea.com Stadium to a smaller ground.

Bridgend's Brewery Field hosted the 23-15 Challenge Cup win against Sale which set up this Friday's quarter-final visit to Gloucester, where Bradley is a former chief executive.

"We should be in a place to make a decision next month," said Bradley.

Ospreys chose to stage the game against Sale at the smaller Brewery Field.

It was the first European match to be held in Bridgend since the long-defunct Celtic Warriors beat Perpignan 16-15 in January 2004.

The Swansea.com Stadium was available to host the Sale game, with football landlords Swansea City playing away last weekend.

Ospreys beat Cardiff 27-21 at the 8,000-capacity Brewery Field in the United Rugby Championship in horrendous conditions on 1 January.

A crowd of 4,225 was announced for the Sale game last Saturday, although the atmosphere was much more lively than in recent games in Swansea, where Ospreys had attracted crowds of around 4,000 for their last two home matches.

"Saturday night was an absolutely brilliant occasion," Bradley told the Scrum V podcast.

"It is the benefit of playing at a smaller ground than the one we normally play at.

"We have been planning this on spreadsheets but if we had any doubt about whether we needed to move to a more compact stadium, this was the evidence.

"If we can recreate the fan experience we had on Saturday, you will have the atmosphere every week and people will start to come back."

Lance Bradley held a meeting with Ospreys supporters about a new ground

There are three viable options for the new permanent home - Bridgend, St Helen's in Swansea and the Gnoll in Neath. Ospreys are looking to move in time for the start of the 2025-26 season.

"One of the things important to us is what our fans think so we have had a couple of engagements with them," said Bradley.

"The finances are important because with crowds of 3,000 or 4,000 it's hard to be viable just on matchday income, so you need to look at what you can do with a stadium.

"Each of the options has pros and cons. At the Brewery Field you have got what you need, it's a lovely old stadium but it would need a bit of refurbishment and the Gnoll would be similar.

"St Helen's would need maybe one or two new stands and we would probably need to move the pitch so it was alongside the terrace. Wherever we go we need a terrace because it generates an atmosphere."

Bradley insists Ospreys owners Y11 Sports & Media would fund the project.

"We have to find a way of paying for it and we are able to take a long-term view of that because that's how our Y11 ownership group work," said Bradley.

"I have presented five-year business plans on the options to the group. The money will come from the Y11 ownership group, but what they would want to see is a return on that money over a period of time.

"We are not looking for outside money although if there were grants available because some of the usage would be public, we are exploring that option."

Ospreys travel to face Gloucester where Bradley spent four years in charge at Kingsholm.

He previously spent 30 years working in the automotive industry, first with Ford Motor Company and then as managing director of Mitsubishi Motors UK.

It was during that time Mitsubishi became the main sponsors at Gloucester, who Bradley joined in 2018 before becoming chief executive the following year.

He saw the club through the Covid-19 pandemic and helped turn around their financial performance to profitability, as well as overseeing an increase in funding for the Gloucester-Hartpury women's team - last season's Premier 15s champions - before stepping down in 2022.

"I am looking forward to the game hugely," said Bradley.

"Gloucester will be favourites but you never know. There is a spirit Toby [Booth] has engendered in the whole squad. They don't know when they are beaten and expect to win games."