Parc y Scarlets

The ground replaced the old Stradey Park. The pitch is a hybrid system, stitched with synthetic fibre to keep the blades upright when the match gets rough, and it has under-soil heating to combat the damp Welsh air. The capacity sits just under fifteen thousand, a number that feels small for a stadium of this size, yet the stands are close enough to the action to make the noise feel contained.

There is a sense that the ground is always being finished. The grey panels on the exterior do not quite match the steel underneath, and the access roads around it are still being graded. It is not a temple of football, but it is a functional space that has hosted everything from the Welsh Cup finals to international matches for the national team when the Millennium Stadium was closed for repairs. The Scarlets have played here since the beginning, and they are the ones who keep knocking on the door of success with this ground as their base. The photo shows a quiet moment, but the matches played here are loud affairs.