Post by Dave on May 12, 2013 7:58:25 GMT
The Vetch Today ( Swansea's Old Ground)
I was in Swansea for a whole week exactly one year ago and little did I know as I drove daily from the Mumbles past Swansea prison on the main road, that the Vetch Field was right behind the prison.
If I had of known and gone and taken a look, the site would have been cleared of its stands etc and I would not have been able to gain access too the area the ground once graced.
On Saturday I went in search of the ground and got lucky as I drove by chance into Glamorgan street and found myself right behind the prison. I was not sure I would find any remains of the ground, or anything that would indicated this was once a football stadium.
I need not have worried as right across the road from where I parked the car, was something that told me not only I was at the right place, but there were some bits left that for me to discover. It was one of the old entrance's and a board overhead, has the stand names that would have been accessed using this entrance.
Since I have been home I have checked on Goggle maps what entrance this was and have learned I actually entered the old ground from one corner of it. Looking at the google images I was surprised to see the angle the ground was laid out between the houses as it was not square as I thought it was when I was standing inside of it.
When I walked inside I first saw the area that is now a temporary allotment, I guess no Swansea fan ever thought they would see veg growing on a plot where a stand once stood.
The site has been landscaped and has a path running through it and a circular path that goes around what was once the centre circle. The whole area is grassed and most of the outside walls of the ground are still standing.
I made my way over to the left hand corner from where I was standing and found some old turnstiles that have all been bricked up. Along the wall that ran the whole Length of the other side of the pitch were more bricked up turnstiles a number of gates that were also bricked up.
Here the ground was very banked up, I'm not sure if that is how it was, or if it is a result of the ground work that was done to make the site usable to the public for now. I say for now as there are signs that tell you that you have permission to enter the ground on foot, but that may be withdrawn at anytime.
At the far end of this side of the ground is part of a wall and it might have been the end of one of the stands. I'm not sure but I was frilled to find it has an image of a swan painted on it and you can see that image below.
It did not seem right standing on a Saturday afternoon in silence at a place that once would have been so full of noise and during the time I spent there, only one person walked through the old ground, probably using it as a short cut.
So what will happen to the Vetch Field in the end? my own views are it should just be left as it is, a pleasant open public space, but I'm sure it won't be too long before housing is built on it and then it will be completely lost forever.
I spend a good three hours on Sunday walking around the very nearby Singleton Park and the Brynmill Park and even then I did not walk the whole area these two parks take up. So I do not think Swansea is short of good open public areas where people can go and walk etc.
One thing that did surprise me was just how big the footprint was of the ground.
This is from good old wilki, plus a few pictures I have found.
The Vetch Field was a multi-purpose stadium in Swansea, Wales. It was used mostly for football matches and was the home ground of Swansea City until the Liberty Stadium opened in 2005. Opened in 1912, the ground held around 12,000 at the time of its closure, but upwards of 30,000 at its peak. Adrian Forbes scored the last-ever league goal at the Vetch, on 30 April 2005, at Swansea's 1-0 win over Shrewsbury Town. The player who scored the final goal at the Vetch was Andy Robinson, who scored the winner in a 2-1 victory over Wrexham.
Named due to the vetch (a type of legume - not a cabbage as popularly misbelieved in most of south Wales) that was grown on its surface at the time, the site was owned by Swansea Gaslight Company in 1912, when a professional football team was formed in the town. The site was in a good location and deemed surplus to requirements at the Gas Company, so the club moved in. Originally, the surface was made of compacted coal cinder and players had to wear knee pads for the first season of football there. Having seen many changes during its 93 years (detailed below), the Vetch took its final bow with an FAW Premier Cup Final against Wrexham. After the game, the seats, turf, advertising hoardings and anything else fans could get their hands on were removed from the ground
On 23 May 2009, the ground was put onto the market after being replaced by the Liberty Stadium almost four years earlier.
Plans were originally made to build a community centre and housing development on the Vetch Field site but had not been put through. This includes a 120-unit housing development and a play area. The housing development would include two, three and four-storey homes. The streets would also be organised into safe but accessible “home zones” designed along communities in Holland where vehicle speeds would be restricted. Parts of the Vetch Field could also be included in the overall development in a public display, planned for what was the centre spot of the old stadium.
Swansea Council also hope tenders will be received for the development works this autumn and a preferred developer to be chosen by the start of next year. Meanwhile, Items of memorabilia at the Vetch Field, such as the stadium clock, have been transferred to Swansea Museum.
Demolition work on the ground began on 31 January 2011. The work was predicted to last four to six months. The famous North Bank was the first stand to be pulled down.
Initially there was some controversy as to the whereabouts of the centre stand's clock - on arrival, the contractors noticed it was missing. It was later confirmed in the South Wales Evening Post that it was in the safe hands of a group of people angered by the Council's neglect of such Vetch relics as the clock.
As of May 2011 no full stands remain and all the floodlights have been removed, including the East Stand's unique, bizarre floodlight. By the beginning of June 2011, with the club promoted to the Premier League and passing what's left of the ground on a victory parade, work has begun on the outside walls of the old stadium.
The centre circle, however, will remain, as this is where people's ashes have been spread.
In August 2011 it was confirmed by Swansea Council that the Vetch would be used temporarily for allotments. Coordinated by local artist Owen Griffiths on the historic site of the Vetch Football field, an urban utopia is being created on the site, in collaboration with the local residents.
Old pictures of the Vetch
Its All Gone Now
