Treflan | |
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 Interactive map of Recreation Ground | |
| Full name | Recreation Ground |
|---|---|
| Location | Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain Powys Wales |
| Coordinates | 52°46′32″N3°9′13″W / 52.77556°N 3.15361°W /52.77556; -3.15361 |
| Capacity | 2,000 (1,000 seated)[1][2] |
| Surface | Grass |
| Tenants | |
| Llansantffraid Village (2007–present) The New Saints (1959–2007) | |
TheRecreation Ground, usually referred to asTreflan, is afootballstadium inLlansantffraid-ym-Mechain,Powys,Wales and is the home ofMid Wales League Division One clubLlansantffraid Village.[3] The Recreation Ground was the home ofWelsh Premier League teamThe New Saints[1] until they moved toPark Hall in nearbyOswestry,England, the former home ofOswestry Town.
Llansantffraid F.C., which later became Total Network Solutions used the Recreation Ground as their home ground since 1959,[4] though it had been used as the centre of football in Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain prior to this.[5] Up until 1990, the Recreation Ground had no stands or clubhouse, which required players to change in a nearby pub. Being a recreation ground, it was also used to graze cows requiring clearing ofcow dung before each match.[4] They also used to play in theWelsh Premier League. In 2003, Total Network Solutions merged withOswestry Town with the agreement that the majority of matches would be played at the Recreation Ground.[6]
In 2005, it was announced that Total Network Solutions, later renamed The New Saints, would leave the Recreation Ground and move to Oswestry Town's oldPark Hall ground in England following redevelopment. The move was made because The New Saints were unable to improve the Recreation Ground to bring it up to UEFA standards for European competition as it was a council ownedrecreation ground.[7] This came after Total Network Solutions were obliged to move theirUEFA Champions League match againstLiverpool F.C. toWrexham'sRacecourse Ground because the Recreation Ground was not big enough to meet UEFA standards.[8] Despite The New Saints leaving the Recreation Ground, chairman Mike Harris stated following the purchase of Total Network Solutions byBritish Telecom, that he still intended for The New Saints to run the Recreation Ground.[9] As a result, the Recreation Ground was still used by The New Saints' youth teams.[10] This was a reversal of the original situation following the merger of Total Network Solutions and Oswestry Town whereby the first team played at the Recreation Ground while the club's reserve, youth and ladies teams played at Park Hall.[11]
In 2007, the Recreation Ground was proposed by The New Saints as a potential venue for theFAW Premier Cup final after they opposed the selection of their final opponentNewport County'sNewport Stadium being selected as the venue when they expected a neutral venue. However theFootball Association of Wales rejected this asBBC Wales had requested it and the Recreation Ground "was not considered suitable and did not have the infrastructure required".[12]
As a result of The New Saints moving to Oswestry, a number of Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain residents broke away from The New Saints to form Llansantffraid Village because of The New Saints were no longer playing regularly in the village and because most of the youth team's players were not from Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain. Llansantffraid Village then started to use the Recreation Ground for their matches in theMontgomeryshire Football League.[10] Following this, the Recreation Ground became viewed as a public youth club. The Recreation Ground later became a target for vandalism with one occasion, vandals threw used nappies on the pitch and a fifth of the Recreation Ground's bucket seats were damaged.[5]
The highest attendance recorded at the Recreation Ground was 1,996 for a pre-seasonfriendly betweenThe New Saints (then known as "Total Network Solutions") andChelsea on 9 August 2002.[1] The Recreation Ground's record attendance in theleague stands at 1,042, set at aWelsh Premier League game between The New Saints andRhyl on 23 January 2005.[1]