The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup (which replaced the Heineken Cup from the 2014–15 season). The club was originally named the Llanelli Scarlets but was renamed at the start of the 2008–09 rugby season. The Llanelli Scarlets were founded in 2003, as one of the five (now four) regional teams created by the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU). The Scarlets are affiliated with a number of semi-professional and amateur clubs throughout the area, including Welsh Premier Division sides Llanelli RFC, Carmarthen Quins RFC and Llandovery RFC. Through the 2007–08 season, they played most of their games at Stradey Park in Llanelli, but they have also played matches at the Racecourse Ground in Wrexham. The club's new stadium, Parc y Scarlets (), was constructed in nearby Pemberton, and opened in November 2008. The Scarlets won the league twice: the initial 2003–04 Celtic League season, and the Pro12 in 2016–17, defeating Munster 46–22 in the 2017 Pro12 Grand Final. History Formation In 2003, the WRU elected to reduce the top tier of Welsh professional rugby from nine clubs into five regions during the introduction of regional rugby union teams in Wales, attempting to mirror the successful formats in Ireland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Initially, it was planned to have a region playing at Stradey Park, with players coming from Llanelli, Swansea and Neath. This was then modified to have Llanelli and Swansea merging, while Neath joined with Bridgend. Llanelli were opposed to both plans and requested standalone status. Eventually, Llanelli and Cardiff were allowed to remain independent. The Llanelli Scarlets brand was officially launched on 7 July 2003. Despite always having been a 100% owned Llanelli RFC subsidiary, the Scarlets were originally conceived as representing the whole of West and North Wales. In the early seasons of regional rugby, the Scarlets played a small number of games at the Racecourse Ground in Wrexham. While nominally continuing to be the regional franchisee for North Wales, the Scarlets presence there has diminished. As of 2018, the Scarlets consider their region to represent the three counties of Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire. 2003–2014 Largely drawn from the Llanelli RFC side that won the Welsh Cup the preceding year, the Scarlets