Liberty Stadium: Swansea City to replace pitch mid-season
- Published
Neither manager was happy with the playing surface after Swansea drew 0-0 with Bournemouth on 8 December
Swansea City will replace the pitch at the Liberty Stadium after Saturday's match with Barnsley.
Swansea will install a hybrid turf pitch for the remainder of the campaign due to issues with their current pitch.
The new pitch will be ready for use from 30 December when the Swans host Reading in the Championship.
"We have realised for some weeks that we have an issue with the current playing surface," Swans chief executive Julian Winter explained.
Work will commence after the visit of Barnsley on Saturday as the Swans install a hybrid pitch, similar to the one used by Tottenham Hotspur at their 62,000-capacity stadium.
Ospreys have agreed to relocate their Boxing Day derby game against Scarlets, which is set to be the only match affected by the laying of a new surface.
The pitch at the Liberty Stadium was criticised by both managers after Swansea's draw with Bournemouth earlier this month.
Steve Cooper said Swansea were "searching for the answer" over the state of their pitch, while Cherries boss Jason Tindall said the playing surface is "not what you would expect" at a club of Swansea's stature.
"Whilst we have attempted to deal with it, with the run of fixtures we have had and with those yet to come, we have decided to take this step to ensure that we provide head coach Steve Cooper and the team with the best possible opportunity to carry our current form into the second half of the season," Winter added.
"Investigations are under way into why the pitch has not held up as we would expect, but for now the imperative was to resolve the matter decisively and positively.
"Our owners have been 100% supportive on this matter as they recognise the importance of the playing surface to our squad and are steadfast in their endeavours to best equip the head coach for the remainder of this campaign."