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2026-09-25

SWANS: New images show how the fan zone behind the South Stand could look

Swansea City supporters have had their first proper look at the fan zone planned behind the South Stand, in new images included in the club’s planning application.

An artist’s impression shows fans in club shirts gathered outside a long grey building decked out with the Swans crest and player graphics, with the stadium’s white steel frame alongside.

The images are in a design statement by AFL Architects, submitted to Swansea Council with the full application lodged on Tuesday.

Room for 1,000 fans, a stage and a big screen

The design statement says the fan zone will hold about 1,000 supporters, with food and drink kiosks, a covered stage and a mobile big screen.

It will be split into family and adult areas, with alcohol served in the adult zone only.

A coffee servery facing the path will keep serving passers-by even when the fan zone itself is closed.

On matchdays it would open three hours before kick-off and close one to two hours after it, according to the statement.

On other days the club envisages supporter events, performances, student events, food and drink events, festive markets and craft fairs.

A five-year building and a permanent Changing Places toilet

The main building is a steel frame with a fabric roof, about 40 metres long and clad in grey metal to match the South Stand. The statement says it will run on a five-year temporary basis.

That is a different design from the one first shown in April, which had a mezzanine gallery with self-pour beer taps and room for more than 1,700.

Alongside it will be a permanent toilet block, with a Changing Places room offering extra space and specialist equipment for disabled people who need help from a carer.

The architects say the block will also serve the South Stand concourse on matchdays and take pressure off the stadium’s existing toilets.

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Murals by local artists planned for the walls

Sections of the fan zone and toilet block walls, including the side facing the public path, have been set aside for murals by local artists, subject to the final artwork being agreed.

The design statement says the artwork could reflect the club’s identity and its relationship with the community, and includes four examples with a Swansea City theme.

Mural examples included in the fan zone design statement. (Images: Swansea City AFC / AFL Architects planning documents)

Nine new trees and changes to the memorial garden

Three trees next to the public path will come down for construction. Nine new ones will be planted on the rough ground beside Brunel Way, a net gain of six, according to the architects.

When the application went in, the club said the memorial garden’s footprint would change but the garden would stay where it is. The design statement says part of its brick wall and fencing will be removed so the garden can be reduced and reconfigured.

The club has asked anyone with questions about the garden to email [email protected].

The Swansea.com Stadium from the air, from the fan zone planning documents. (Image: Swansea City AFC / AFL Architects)

Security blocks that double as seating

South Wales Police asked for barriers against vehicles when planners responded to the club’s early plans in May. Heavy modular blocks at the busy south-west corner will double as seating, alongside a 2.4m fence and CCTV.

Fans arriving on foot or by bike will use the existing walking and cycling path past the fan zone, which links to the footbridge over the Tawe.

Supporters crossing the footbridge over the Tawe on the way to the stadium, from the fan zone planning documents. (Image: Swansea City AFC / AFL Architects)

The scheme would take out 46 car parking spaces, 34 of them used by players on matchdays. The club says it will manage that with fewer parking permits or by bringing players in by coach.

A December opening target

The club has said it wants the fan zone open in December, though it is prepared to follow “alternative timelines as required”.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

SWANS: Fan zone plans lodged for behind the South Stand
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SWANSEA CITY: Planners give fan zone the green light in principle, but the club has got some work to do
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Swansea City plan huge fan zone for more than 1,700 fans, with self-pour beer taps, a big screen and a bierkeller vibe
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Kit Peters @[email protected]

2026-09-22

SWANS: Fan zone plans lodged for behind the South Stand

Swansea City supporters could have a covered bar for more than 1,700 behind the South Stand by Christmas. The club says its final planning application went in on Tuesday and diggers will be on site within days.

The plans it first showed in April put a 40-metre building with self-pour beer taps, a stage, a big screen and bierkeller benches on what is now a service road, open on matchdays and for events in between.

The memorial garden

The club says some of the early work means that if the project is completed “the footprint of the memorial garden at the stadium will be altered, although the garden will remain in its current location”. It has not said how.

Anyone with concerns or questions about changes to the garden is asked to email [email protected].

December, but no promises

The application mentions an intention to open in December, the club says, adding in the same statement that “the priority with this process is to make sure the final venue is fit for purpose” and that it is prepared to follow “alternative timelines as required”.

It is the second date to move. In April the club wanted the fan zone open for the start of this season.

The site behind the South Stand outlined in red in the April pre-application drawings, with the tree-lined path, the lampposts and the substation the architects had to work around (Image: Swansea City FC / AFL Architects)

What the council asked for

Planners gave the scheme the green light in principle in May and handed the club’s architects a list. The building had to pull back from the row of trees along the walking and cycling path on the site’s northern edge, the mezzanine needed lifts for wheelchair users, and South Wales Police wanted crash-rated barriers to stop a vehicle being driven into a crowd.

Noise was flagged for the Copper Quarter flats to the east, with a noise assessment and operating hours to be set out. At more than 1,700 capacity the venue falls into the enhanced tier of Martyn’s Law, the counter-terror duty brought in after the Manchester Arena bombing.

The club says it has “worked on some of the feedback and recommendations” from that process and held “positive discussions” with the council before submitting. Which of the planners’ points it has met will be in the application documents when they are published.

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Why the club wants it

The April drawings by AFL Architects showed food and drink kiosks, a raised gallery with self-pour taps and bench seating facing a big screen, with room for around 1,166 people at ground level and more than 1,766 once a mezzanine goes in above the kiosks.

The club’s own brief said 72% of fans arrive more than an hour before kick-off and get a poor experience for it, with narrow concourses and slow service, and that too many spend their money elsewhere before the game.

Consultation with supporters “has already started, and will continue”, the club says, with the aim of a venue that “meets the needs and requirements of as wide a range of supporters as possible”.

Whose ground it is

Swansea Council agreed in July to sell the club the stadium’s freehold, unanimously and with the price kept in a closed session. Council leader Rob Stewart told that meeting the authority would keep planning control over whatever the Swans brought forward for the site.

This is the first test of that. The application will appear on the council’s planning portal for public comment before a decision is made.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

Swansea City plan huge fan zone for more than 1,700 fans, with self-pour beer taps, a big screen and a bierkeller vibe
The April drawings and the club’s brief.

SWANSEA CITY: Planners give fan zone the green light in principle, but the club has got some work to do
Trees, lifts, barriers and Martyn’s Law: the pre-application response in full.

SWANSEA.COM STADIUM: Sale to the Swans agreed, as council explains why the price must stay secret
How the club came to own the ground it is building on.

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Kit Peters @[email protected]

2026-04-11

Swansea City plan huge fan zone for more than 1,700 fans — with self-pour beer taps, a big screen and a bierkeller vibe

The club has lodged a pre-application planning inquiry with Swansea Council for the development, which would sit behind the South Stand on land that currently serves as little more than a service road. The reference number is 2026/0561/PRE.

And the ambition is serious. Plans drawn up by AFL Architects show a covered structure roughly 40 metres long, with rows of food and drink kiosks, a raised viewing gallery with self-pour beer taps, a stage, a large screen and bierkeller-style bench seating. Capacity at ground floor level would be around 1,166 — rising to more than 1,766 with a full upper mezzanine added above the kiosks.

The club’s own brief for the project doesn’t pull its punches about why it’s needed. It notes that 72% of fans arrive more than an hour before kick-off but currently have a poor experience — with narrow concourses, slow serving times and toilets opposite the food stands. Many supporters simply head elsewhere to spend their money before games. The new fan zone is designed to change all of that, with the brief explicitly calling for frictionless self-service technology and an Instagram “wow moment” at the entrance. Indicative visuals show a sweeping club mural running the full length of the building’s exterior.

The club wants it open for the start of the 2026/27 season.

The site behind the South Stand at the Swansea.com Stadium outlined in red, showing the constraints the architects have had to work around — including the tree-lined public path, existing lampposts and the electricity substation (Image: Swansea City FC / AFL Architects)

There are some physical constraints on what can be built. A public footpath and mature trees to the west must be kept, an operational electricity substation limits the northern end, and a steep embankment restricts the east side. The architects say all of these have been worked into the design.

A second phase is also being talked about. The area beyond the fan zone could eventually house a football museum, community event space or premium food and drink venue — giving the stadium a reason for people to visit on non-matchday days too.

It all fits with the vision Snoop Dogg laid out when he became a minority investor in the club last summer. The rapper told Swansea Bay News he wanted to make Swansea “the Vegas of Wales” over the next decade — transforming the stadium into a destination, not just a matchday venue. A fan zone of this scale, with live entertainment, big screens and a self-service bar, is exactly what that would need.

An artist’s impression of what the fan zone could look like inside — with bierkeller bench seating, a large screen, club song lyrics on the wall and an elevated gallery with self-pour beer taps (Image: Swansea City FC / AFL Architects)

The financial case for it is also pretty clear. Swansea City’s most recent accounts show the club made a £21.6 million loss last season, with owners having to pump in £21 million just to keep things running. Turnover was £22.3 million against costs of £51.3 million. Getting fans to spend more money at the ground — which the brief specifically targets — would help close that gap and reduce the owners’ reliance on writing cheques to keep the lights on.

This is a pre-application inquiry, which is the first step in the planning process rather than a full application. Swansea City Football Club has been approached for comment.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

‘I ain’t playing’: Snoop Dogg reveals ten-year plan to make Swansea the ‘Vegas of Wales’
The rap legend’s vision for the club — and how a major fan zone fits into the bigger picture.

£21.6m loss as owners pump in £21m to keep club afloat
The financial backdrop — and why growing matchday revenue matters so much to Swansea’s future.

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