Vetch Field
The Vetch Field in 2006
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| Location | Glamorgan Street, Swansea, Wales |
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| Coordinates | 51°36′59.27″N 3°56′59.81″W / 51.6164639°N 3.9499472°WCoordinates: 51°36′59.27″N 3°56′59.81″W / 51.6164639°N 3.9499472°W |
| Owner | Swansea City A.F.C. |
| Capacity | 11,475 (at closure) |
| Record attendance | 32,796 (Swansea vs Arsenal, 17 February 1968) |
| Field size | 101 by 64 metres (110 by 70 yards) |
| Acreage | 5.3 acres |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1912 |
| Renovated | Numerous Times |
| Closed | 11 May 2005 |
| Demolished | 2011 |
| Tenants | |
| Swansea City A.F.C. (1912-2005) | |
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 club moved to the newly built Liberty Stadium 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.
As well as being home to the Swans, the Vetch also hosted games for the Wales national football team, with 18 internationals played at the Vetch between 1921 and 1988. Other sports also found a home at the Vetch, with 8 rugby league matches played there between 1990 and 1999. In 1960, local boy Brian Curvis beat the Australian boxer George Barnes at the Vetch to win the Commonwealth (British Empire) Welterweight title.
The stadium also operated as a music venue, hosting The Who in 1976 and Stevie Wonder in 1984.
The Vetch's final Football League fixture was a 1-0 win for Swansea over Shrewsbury Town on 30 April 2005. The last ever game of football to be held at the Vetch was the 2005 FAW Premier Cup final, which saw Swansea beat Wrexham 2–1.
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, and is currently in the process of being demolished as the council seek permission to build on the land there, the entrances have been boarded up and the turf of the pitch has been taken up. The 2004-05 season was the first time in 93 years that the Vetch had the highest average attendance in its division.
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