Millennium Stadium - Cardiff, Wales,UK
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N 51° 28.639 W 003° 11.001
30U E 487266 N 5702922
Since it's opening in June 1999, the 74,500 seat Millennium Stadium, home of the Wales Rugby team, has welcomed over 1.3 Million visitors per year.
Waymark Code: WM60RK
Location: United Kingdom
Date Posted: 03/13/2009
Views: 26
With the first retractable roof in the UK, the Stadium is a multi-purpose, all round venue. With a UEFA 5-Star rating and two Rugby World Cups, a Wales Grand Slam, six FA Cup Finals plus a plethora of major concerts and motorsports events on its CV, the Millennium Stadium is established as a world class must play, must visit venue.
History of the Millennium Stadium-Cardiff Arms Park Site
The 1800s
- Lord Bute donates the Park to the people of Cardiff
- Cricket is played from 1848
- Cardiff Rugby Club is formed in 1876
- First victory for Wales over Ireland in 1884
- Grand Stand opens 1885
- Grand Stand extension completed in 1890
- New pavilion opened for changing, indoor exercise and social functions
The Early 1900s
- Teddy Morgan’s solitary try in December 1905 inflicted defeat upon the first All Blacks - World champion status is conferred upon Wales
- Cardiff beat South Africa - New Years Day 1907
- New North Stand is opened but wrecked by a land mine dropped by the Luftwaffe in 1941
The 1950s
- First Grand Slam victory by Wales for 39 years in 1950
- New Zealand lost twice at Cardiff Arms park in 1953 but the All Blacks have beaten Wales there ever time since 1951
- South stand opens in 1956 ready for the 1958 Empire Games with standing room for another 47000 spectators
The 1960s
- Keith Jarrett’s arrival on the international scene when he scored one of the most audacious and spectacular tries witnessed at Cardiff in 1967
The 1970s
- The National Ground, Cardiff Arms Park wholly reconstructed during the 1970s
- The Welsh ‘Golden Era’ – John Dawes, Gareth Edwards, Barry John, Mervyn Davies, Gerald Davies, JPR Williams and Phil Bennett are superstars
The 1980s
- Welsh rugby goes off the boil
- Great XVs from New Zealand, South Africa and Australia still draw big crowds
- Paul Thorburn establishes a world record for a penalty goal kick of 70 yards and 8.5 inches in 1988
The 1990s
- The Rugby World Cup comes to the Cardiff Arms Park in 1991 - Wales fail to reach the quarter finals
- From 1989, Cardiff Arms Park becomes ‘home’ for Wales’s soccer stars
- Also hosted were pop concerts and boxing title fights - Tina Turner, Lewis v Bruno
- SWALEC Cup Final is the very last game at Wales’ National Ground in 1997
- Redevelopment begins in September 1997 after auctioning of parts of the old National Stadium The Millennium Stadium
- With construction work still to be done, a three-quarters complete Millennium Stadium hosts its very first game in June 1999 and Wales record their first win over South Africa in nearly ? years. Mark Taylor scores the solitary opening try at the new venue
- After several warm-up games, Wales host the Opening Ceremony of RWC 1999 in October 1999, three pool games for Wales and a quarter-final (in which Wales bow out to the eventual Champions Australia), the third-fourth place Play-Off, and the Closing Ceremony and Final - the roof slides open during the Opening Ceremony
The Millennium
- The new venue becomes a giant concert arena for a New Year's Eve Millennium extravaganza
- The Manic Street Preachers see in revellers with a 'Manic Millennium' under the Stadium's now infamous sliding roof
- The Millennium Stadium hosts the first FAW International Football matches in the summer of 2000
- The Football League Cup Final, LDV Vans Trophy, FA Cup Final and FA Community Shield come to the Stadium in 2001 confirming its status as a World Class venue, the Stadium also achieves a 5 Star UEFA rating and Speedway brings motorsport to its multi-purpose capabilities
- The FA Community Shield of 2001 between Manchester United and Liverpool becomes the first football match played under a closed roof in the UK
- The Stadium hosts its first competitive Football International Play-Off in November 2003 between Wales and Russia
It's the home of which team(s)?: Wales
Which professional sports are played here?: Rugby and Football
Capacity (number of seats): 74,500
Opening Date: 06/01/1999
Guided Tours: yes
Venue's Website or Team's Website: [Web Link]
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Visit Instructions:
1) Tell how was your visit. Were you at a game, which one? Have you just visited it by the outside, on a guided tour maybe? Are you a fan?
2) Pictures:
- They should be taken by YOU.
- No internet pictures are allowed.
- Upload one photo, at least. It would be great if you'd upload one of the venue and one with you on the photo.
- No need of photos with the GPSr.
- Extra credits for photos inside, with the teams playing.