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Millennium Stadium Capacity:
73,434 (72,500 for Football)
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| Contents | ||
| What's The
Stadium Like? The Millennium Stadium (photo) What Is It Like For Visiting Supporters? Ticket Price Bands Explained The South (Hyder) Stand (photo) Where To Eat & Drink? How To Get There By Car & Where To Park By Train Stadium Layout Stadium Tours Hotel Accommodation Feedback |
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| What's The Stadium Like? |
| Simply stunning. Built on the site of the Cardiff Arms Park by Laing, the stadium was completed in October 1999, at a cost of £130 million. The stadium features a fully retractable roof which takes about 20 minutes to close and is the first of its kind to be constructed in Britain. The stadium is completely enclosed with curved corners and is mostly three tiered with an additional row of 125 executive boxes. Add to this two huge screens, suspended beneath the roof at each end of the stadium, and you have a sight to behold. Unfortunately one end, the North Stand, is only two tiered as it backs onto the neighbouring Cardiff Rugby Club. Efforts were made to persuade the rugby club to move, but to no avail. Hence the stadium is built directly onto the rear of one of the rugby club stands and as there was insufficient space, a third tier could not be built. Another unusual feature of this stadium is that the grass pitch is grown outside of the stadium and is brought in when needed, allowing the stadium to be used for other events. Periodically a falcon is flown around the stadium to keep Cardiff's pigeon population at bay. |
| The Millennium Stadium |
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| What Is It Like For Supporters? |
| The facilities are first class and there is
plenty of leg room and height between rows, ensuring a good
view of the action. Although the stadium is huge, one pleasant surprise is
that you don't feel that you are that far away from the playing surface. One slight complaint is that at the back of the lower tier,
you feel a little cut off from the rest of the stadium as the second tier
overhangs the first. You still get a good view of the playing surface, but
you can't see the whole stadium. To compensate for this TV screens are
suspended beneath the roof above you so that you can see what is happening
on the huge stadium screens. Also the incline of the top tier (level six) is quite steep,
needing some effort to climb to the top. On the plus
side the acoustics and p.a. as you would expect are first class and a
great atmosphere can be generated within the stadium.
Add to this friendly stewards, relaxed police and a generally welcoming
local population, then you have all the ingredients for a great day out. In
a lot of respects I'll be sad to see the finals return to Wembley when it is
completed in 2006. If you are lucky enough to see a game with the roof of the stadium closed, then prepare yourself for quite a spectacle. The stadium looks totally different with it closed, and the atmosphere is boosted within it. You wouldn't want to see every game under cover, as it seems somewhat artificial, but as a one off it is a fantastic experience. |
| Ticket Price Bands Explained |
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Excluding Executive Areas, there are are normally four
categories of tickets available for football games: The most expensive tickets are for the middle tier of the stadium and on the photo below they are the red band of seats across the middle of it. The second band of tickets are for the very front rows of the upper top tier, just above the row of executive boxes. The third band of seats are in the mid price category and are located around the middle of the bottom & top tiers of seating. The cheapest seats are located in three areas, where although the views are acceptable they are not as good as the other areas. The three areas are: 1) The very front rows of seats in the lower tier (if you look at the photo below they are the red seats, right down by the pitch). 2) Rows of seats at the back of the lower tier (in the photo it is the area at the back of the bottom tier, that is in shadow). Although the view is okay from this area, you feel a little cut off from the rest of the stadium, as you are sitting under the second tier. 3) Seats right at the back of the top tier, where you are furthest away from the pitch. Again the view of the playing action is fine (unless you have sight problems as you are far away from the pitch), but some of the rest of the stadium is obscured by the tubular steelwork and large video screen hanging down from the roof. |
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| Where To Eat & Drink? |
| The good news is that unlike most
other new stadiums, built on the edge of town, the Millennium is right in the centre of Cardiff. There are loads of bars and eating
establishments to choose from. In fact there are over 70 bars
within a quarter mile radius of the stadium, that can in total accommodate around
60,000 supporters! However your choice of pubs will more than likely be
restricted to which end of the stadium your team has been allocated, as
fans then tend to congregate in the pubs around each end. The South End of the stadium, has the larger bars centered around it in St Marys Street, where the usual names of Wetherspoons, Walkabout & O'Neils can be found. My pick of the bars in this area were the Wetherspoons outlet, the Prince Of Wales (a former theatre, where you can now have a pint in the royal box!) and if you are looking for a good pint of Brains, The Albert is just in front of the brewery. However, these pubs fill up quickly so aim to get there for opening time. Gareth Baglow recommends 'The Cottage' on St Marys Street. At the North End, Danny Boy recommends the 'Owain Glyndwr' by the market and the 'Angel Bar' beneath the hotel of the same name. Whilst Bob Kurac a visiting Liverpool supporter adds; 'The City Arms is a cracking good pub, right opposite the entrance to gates 2 and 3. Two small bars, excellent ales (Brains) and a big screen for sports.' Whilst Mark Tyler recommends 'The Cayo Arms on Cathedral Road. It is only five minutes walk from the stadium, has a 'beer garden' in front of it, so if the weather's good you can have a pre-match pint while sharing some banter with the opposing fans and soaking up the atmosphere as fans stream past on their way to the match. Directions - walking away from the city centre, cross the river Taff on the bridge just North of the stadium and take the first right. You are now in Cathedral Road and The Cayo is the first pub you reach, a couple of hundred metres up on the right'. Just off St Marys Street is Caroline Street, nicknamed
locally as 'chip alley'. The street is home to a number of kebab shops and
chippies. |
| How To Get There By Car & Where To Park |
| The stadium is well
signposted from the M4 and surrounding routes, with electronic signs
advising which junction
to take. The junction exiting the M4 into
Cardiff (up to four junctions are used 29-33) will depend on which Park & Ride
scheme you will getting, as separate ones are set up for opposing
supporters, and depending on whether you
are going by coach or car. Unless you are going to be at
the stadium several hours before kick off, then due to traffic
restrictions put in force on matchdays, you will not be able to drive near
to, let alone park by the stadium. You will therefore have to use the Park & Ride
service. The Park & Ride scheme is not free; it costs £5 to park, and
there are huge queues waiting after the game to go
back to the car parks. I would advise that you allow plenty of time for your journey
as traffic congestion along the M4 and going into Cardiff can be quite
bad. Alternatively I would advise either stopping in Cardiff the night
before, or drive part of the way and then get a train into Cardiff (see
below).
To go to a simplified page, containing the directions and pub info, which you can print out click here. |
| Cardiff Central station is only a few minutes walk from the stadium, directly behind the South Stand. As you come out of the station, the stadium is across the road in front of you. Fans may also consider driving to Newport station and getting the train for the fifteen minute ride into Cardiff Central. The cost of a 'off peak' adult return from Newport to Cardiff is £3.30 and the trains run regularly before and after the game. You can't park for long periods at Newport Station itself, but there is a large 'shoppers' car park on the other side of the dual carriageway to that of the station entrance. Although advertised as a 'short term' car park you can park there all day and on my last visit this cost £3.90. I also noted that on Sundays the barrier to the car park exit is not in place, so you can in effect, park for free. Alternatively there is a smaller car park, just past the entrance to the shoppers car park, or if you continue up to the traffic island and turn right, there is another car park located over the bridge. |
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| Stadium Tours |
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The stadium offers regular tours on most
days throughout the year. The tour itself costs: Adults: £5 Children 5-16 years: £2.50 Children Under 5's: Free Concessions (OAP's Students, Unemployed, Proof required): £3 Family Ticket: 2 Adults + 3 Children £15 I have been on the tour myself and would definitely recommend it. It lasts around 45 minutes and is one of the better tours that I have been on, full of interesting facts, coupled with a sense of humour. You can book your tours on: 02920 822 228. |
| Hotel Accommodation |
| If you require hotel accommodation in the area then first try a hotel booking service provided by Superbreak in conjunction with Harvey World Travel. Yes this site will earn a small commission if you book through them, but it will go to help with the running costs of keeping the Guide going. To access the service click here. Alternatively there is a similar service from Football Hotels who are powered by Activehotels, who specialise in locating accommodation near or within a short travelling distance of the football ground. To access their Cardiff page click here. |
| Feedback |
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If anything is incorrect or you have
something to add, please e-mail
me and I'll update the guide. |
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Copyright © Duncan Adams
2004. All rights reserved.
Last Revised:
28 May, 2005
