Millennium Stadium

Not to be confused with Cardiff Arms Park.
For the rugby league ground known as the Millennium Stadium for sponsorship reasons, see Post Office Road.

Principality Stadium
Stadiwm Principality
Map
Former names
  • Millennium Stadium
  • Stadiwm y Mileniwm
  • National Stadium Of Wales (During UEFA competitions)
  • Stadiwm Genedlaethol Cymru
LocationWestgate Street
Cardiff
CF10 1NS
Coordinates51°28′41″N 3°10′57″W / 51.47806°N 3.18250°W / 51.47806; -3.18250
Public transitNational Rail Cardiff Central
OwnerMillennium Stadium plc
OperatorMillennium Stadium plc
Executive suites124
Capacity73,931 (rugby union and football)[5]
78,000 (boxing)[6]
Field size120 m × 79 m (394 ft × 259 ft)[7]
SurfaceGrass (1999–2014)
GrassMaster (2014–present)[2]
Construction
Broke ground1997
Opened26 June 1999; 25 years ago (1999-06-26)[1]
Construction cost£121 million[3]
ArchitectBligh Lobb Sports Architecture[4]
Structural engineerWS Atkins
Main contractorsLaing
Tenants
Wales national rugby union team
(1999–present)
Wales national football team
(2000–2009)[a]
Speedway Grand Prix of Great Britain
(2001–present)
Website
www.principalitystadium.wales

The Millennium Stadium (Welsh: Stadiwm y Mileniwm), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium (Welsh: Stadiwm Principality) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and has also held Wales national football team games. Initially built to host the 1999 Rugby World Cup and replacing the National Stadium, it has gone on to host many other large-scale events, such as the Tsunami Relief Cardiff concert, the Super Special Stage of Wales Rally Great Britain, the Speedway Grand Prix of Great Britain and various concerts. It also hosted FA Cup, League Cup and Football League play-off finals while Wembley Stadium was being redeveloped between 2001 and 2006, as well as football matches during the 2012 Summer Olympics.

The stadium is owned by Millennium Stadium plc, a subsidiary company of the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU).[9] The architects were Bligh Lobb Sports Architecture. The structural engineers were WS Atkins and the building contractor was Laing. The total construction cost of the stadium was £121 million,[3] of which the Millennium Commission funded £46 million.[10]

The Millennium Stadium opened in June 1999[1] and its first major event was an international rugby union match on 26 June 1999, when Wales beat South Africa in a test match by 29–19 before a crowd of 29,000.[11] With a total seating capacity of 73,931, it is the largest stadium in Wales and the fourth largest (and second largest outside London) in the United Kingdom by total capacity. In addition, it is the third-largest stadium in the Six Nations Championship behind the Stade de France and Twickenham. It is also the second-largest stadium in the world with a fully retractable roof and was the second stadium in Europe to have this feature.[12][13] Listed as a category four stadium by UEFA, the stadium was chosen as the venue for the 2017 UEFA Champions League Final, which took place on 3 June 2017.[14][15] In 2015, the Welsh Rugby Union announced a 10-year sponsorship deal with the Principality Building Society that saw the stadium renamed as the "Principality Stadium" from early 2016.[16][17][18]

  1. ^ a b "Millennium Stadium Information". Millennium Stadium. Archived from the original on 3 July 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2008.
  2. ^ "End of an era, as Heineken Cup final between Toulon and Saracens marks last game on grass at the Millennium Stadium". Welsh Rugby Union. Archived from the original on 7 February 2009. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference cost was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Pulling off the wow factor". Federation of Master Builders. Archived from the original on 10 October 2007. Retrieved 28 August 2008.
  5. ^ "Principality Stadium: Disabled spaces increased by 30%". BBC News. 14 February 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  6. ^ "Anthony Joshua set to take Muhammad Ali's 39-year record against Carlos Takam at Principality Stadium". Trinity Mirror. 27 October 2017. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  7. ^ "Facts & Figures". Principality Stadium. 2016. Archived from the original on 29 October 2016. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  8. ^ Abbandonato, Paul (9 October 2018). "Why Wales haven't played football at the Principality Stadium for 7 years". WalesOnline.
  9. ^ "About Millennium Stadium plc". Welsh Rugby Union. Archived from the original on 22 September 2008. Retrieved 24 August 2008.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Lottery was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Opened was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference Retractable roof was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference Millennium Stadium was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ "2017 UEFA Champions League final: Cardiff". UEFA. Archived from the original on 26 June 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference CL Final was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ "Millennium Stadium: Cardiff venue to be renamed Principality Stadium". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 8 September 2015. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  17. ^ "Millennium Stadium to be renamed Principality Stadium in historic naming rights deal with WRU". Wales Online. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  18. ^ Mosalski, Ruth (31 December 2015). "It's just three weeks until the Millennium Stadium officially becomes the Principality". WalesOnline. Media Wales. Retrieved 1 January 2016.


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