Millennium Stadium
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| Millennium Stadium Stadiwm y Mileniwm |
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| Location | Cardiff, Wales |
| Opened | June 1999[1] |
| Owner | Welsh Rugby Union |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction cost | £126 million |
| Architect | HOK + LOBB Partnership and WS Atkins[2] |
| Tenants |
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| Capacity |
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The Millennium Stadium (Welsh: Stadiwm y Mileniwm), is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital Cardiff, and is used primarily for rugby union and football home internationals. At the time of its construction it was the largest stadium in the United Kingdom with a capacity of 74,500, but has since been overtaken by Old Trafford, Twickenham Stadium and the new Wembley Stadium. The Millennium Stadium is owned by Millennium Stadium plc which is a subsidiary company owned by the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU). It is the fourth largest stadium in the Six Nations behind Twickenham, Stade de France and Croke Park which is the largest.
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[edit] History
[edit] Background
Until 1969 Cardiff and Wales played their home matches on the same pitch but a sea-change came in the 1969-70 season. As a result of an agreement between Cardiff Athletic Club and the WRU, the National Stadium project established a new stadium for international matches with club rugby fixtures switched to the original cricket ground on the Cardiff Arms Park site.
In 1994 a redevelopment committee was set up to consider redeveloping the National Stadium. By 1995 the WRU was chosen to host the 1999 Rugby World Cup.
By 1999 the National Stadium, Cardiff Arms Park, as it was officially known, was replaced by the Millennium Stadium. Cardiff Rugby Football Club, however, continue to play at Cardiff Arms Park.
National Stadium at Cardiff Arms Park, which was designed in 1962, showed that other nations stadia had overtaken it, with Twickenham Stadium (England) with a capacity of 82,000 and Murrayfield Stadium (Scotland) with a capacity of 67,000, and with France about to build the Stade de France with a capacity of over 80,000 for the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
Additional problems were that the National Stadium was also very well hidden by the neighbouring buildings to the south in Park Street, Wood Street and to the east in Westgate Street, and also by Cardiff Rugby Ground in the north. It was only fully visible from across the River Taff in the west. Access to the ground was also very restricted with the main entrance being a narrow opening in Westgate Street to the east which is shared by both vehicles and spectators alike[3].
In order to remain on the Arms Park site additional space had to be found to allow safe access and to provide room for the increased capacity and facilities. This was achieved by the purchase of adjacent buildings to the south and east and by the construction of a new River Walk by the River Taff on the west side.
The capacity of the National Stadium was 53,000, which included 11,000 standing in the East Terrace. With new safety regulations, this would mean that the capacity would be reduced further to 47,500. It was decided that the new stadium should have a sliding roof to accommodate a multi-use venue, with a grass pitch for rugby and football (soccer). The only other sliding roof in Europe at the time was at the Amsterdam Arena, with a capacity of 50,000.
The options for the new stadium included adding a third tier to the existing National Stadium. Other options included moving to a new site. But this option was discounted because it would require vast car parking facilities and that would put severe short-term pressure on the local transport infrastructure, creating traffic jams and pollution.
The committee eventually chose a new stadium on the same site but with considerable increase in its capacity. It would also involve moving the alignment of the stadium from west-east to north-south. This was the option supported by the Millennium Commission. It would become the fourth redevelopment of the Cardiff Arms Park site[4].
[edit] Construction
Construction involved the demolish of a number of buildings primarily the existing National Stadium (Cardiff Arms Park), Wales Empire Pool in Wood Street, Cardiff Empire Telephone Exchange building (owned by BT) in Park Street, the newly built Territorial Auxiliary & Volunteer Reserve Building, also in Park Street and the Social Security offices in Westgate Street[5][6].
The stadium was built by John Laing plc[7] in 1999 on the site of the National Stadium. It was built for the 1999 Rugby World Cup, for which Wales was the main host. It was home to seven of the 41 matches, including the final.
The construction cost the WRU £126 million, which was considered remarkably low for a state-of-the-art stadium. This was funded by private investment, £46 million of public funds from the National Lottery, the sale of debentures to supporters (which offered guaranteed tickets in exchange for an interest-free loan), and loans. The development left the WRU heavily in debt.
The Millennium Stadium was first used for a major event on 26 June 1999, when Wales played South Africa in a rugby friendly match before a test crowd of 29,000. Wales won the match 29-19: the first time they had ever beaten the Springboks.[8]
[edit] Features
The all-seater stadium has the capacity for 74,500 supporters and features a retractable roof (only the second stadium in Europe, and the second biggest in the world, with this feature) to protect the playing surface from the elements. Additional seating is sometimes added for special events such as a rugby Test against the All Blacks, or formerly for the FA Cup final. The current record attendance is 75,100, recorded at Wales' 30–15 victory over Scotland in the 2008 Six Nations Championship on 9 February 2008.[9]
The natural grass turf is a made up of a modular system installed by GreenTech ITM. It features built in irrigation and drainage. The pitch itself is laid on top of some 7,400 pallets which can be moved so the stadium can be used for concerts, exhibitions and other events.
The superstructure of the stadium is based around four 90.3-metre (296 ft) masts. The stadium was built from 56,000 tonnes of concrete and steel, and has 125 hospitality boxes, 22 bars, 7 restaurants, 17 first aid points, 12 escalators and 7 lifts.[10] In each of the stadium's bars, so-called "joy machines" can pour 12 pints in less than 20 seconds. During a Wales-France match, 63,000 fans drank 77,184 pints of beer, almost double the 44,000 pints drunk by a similar number of fans at a game at Twickenham.
The stadium has a resident hawk named "Dad", who is employed to drive seagulls and pigeons out of the stadium.[11]
[edit] North stand
The stadium was slightly restricted in size due to its proximity to Cardiff Rugby Club's home in the adjacent smaller stadium within Cardiff Arms Park. The WRU were unable to secure enough funding to include the north stand in the new stadium, and the national lottery commission would not allow any of its funds to be used in any way for the construction of the club ground. The WRU held talks with CRFC Ltd to see if it would be possible for the club to either move or secure funding for the Cardiff Arms Park to be re-developed, but these were unsuccessful. The stadium thus had to be completed with a break in its bowl structure, known colloquially as "Glanmor's Gap"—after Glanmor Griffiths, then chairman and now president of the WRU.[12]
CRFC Ltd reached a Heads of Terms agreement with Cardiff City Football Club and Cardiff County Council to move the Cardiff Blues to the new Leckwith all-seater stadium at the start of the 2009-10 season. Despite the revelation that the South Stand of Cardiff Arms Park and therefore the adjoining North stand of the Millennium Stadium has concrete cancer, the old structure has an expected working life until 2020. However, it is acknowledged that major rebuilding work will be required at this end of the Millennium Stadium within the next 30 years. This opens the door to the possibility of the stadium expanding by taking over the site of CRFC, who will be forced to vacate due to the demolition work, if they haven't done so already. [13]
[edit] Usage
As well as international rugby union, the Millennium Stadium has hosted a variety of sports, including association football, rugby league (including the Challenge Cup final on 3 occasions between 2003 and 2005, and Welsh Rugby League internationals), speedway, indoor cricket, boxing, and, more recently, Monster Jam monster trucks.
[edit] Rugby union
The stadium is the home of the Welsh rugby union team, who play all of their home fixtures at the venue. These games include those during the Six Nations, as well as the November Tests against nations from the Southern Hemisphere. Apart from the national team the stadium has been used for Celtic League games, as well as Heineken Cup matches. The Cardiff Blues sometimes play larger home fixtures at the ground.
The stadium has hosted the semi-finals of the Anglo-Welsh Cup in 2006 and 2007, as well as Heineken Cup finals in:
2001-02 Leicester Tigers 15 - 9 Munster
2005-06 Munster 23 - 19 Biarritz
2007-08 Toulouse 13 - 16 Munster
The stadium also staged 3 pool matches and 1 quarter-final match ( New Zealand 18-20 France ) of the 2007 Rugby World Cup.
[edit] Rugby league
The Millennium Stadium has hosted 3 of rugby league's Challenge Cup Finals, one of the biggest annual showpiece events the UK's sporting calendar.
Also, in 2007 the stadium hosted the inaugural Millennium Magic weekend. This was a 2-day event in May when an entire round of Super League matches were played, 3 games on the Saturday and 3 games on the Sunday. The event was deemed a success by the sport's governing body, the RFL, and in the autumn of 2007 they announced that a 2nd Millennium Magic event will take place in May 2008.
[edit] Association football
Since 2000, the stadium has also been the almost-permanent home of Welsh football. The national team play the vast majority of home matches at the Millennium Stadium, with a handful once or twice a year in Wrexham. The first Welsh football game in the stadium in 2000 was against Finland, and drew a then record home crowd for Welsh football of over 66,000. This has since been beaten on several occasions.
Eight matches of the 2012 Olympic football competition are planned for the arena.
[edit] Wembley construction
Whilst the Millennium stadium was under construction, the old 1923 Wembley stadium had hosted the Welsh rugby team during the building of the new ground. The favour was returned from 2001 whilst England's national stadium, Wembley Stadium was undergoing rebuilding, with the Millennium hosting:
- FA Cup Final
- League Cup Final
- Football League Trophy Final
The stadium became notorious for an apparent "away team hoodoo". The first seven finals were all won by the teams occupying the home dressing room with their fans in the North Stand. Stoke City beat Brentford 2-0 to end the "hoodoo."
Liverpool were the first team to win the FA Cup at the Millennium Stadium in 2001 after beating Arsenal 2-1. Fittingly they also won the last FA Cup to be held at the Millennium Stadium in 2006, after beating West Ham United 3-1 in a penalty shootout that followed a 3-3 draw after extra time in a final that was billed as 'the best cup final of the modern era.'
The last domestic cup match played was when Doncaster Rovers beat Bristol Rovers 3-2 AET in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy Final on April 1, 2007.
[edit] Motorsports
In 2001 it staged its first ever motorsport event, hosting the Speedway Grand Prix of Great Britain, and has done every year since, in 2007 attracting over 41,000, a record for British Speedway. In September 2005 the stadium was host to the first ever indoor stage of the World Rally Championship during the Wales Rally Great Britain. The lower tier of the stadium was removed to create a figure-of-eight course. In addition to this, the stadium has hosted stages for the British Rally and motocross events. In October 2007 the stadium hosted the UK leg of the Monster Jam Monster trucks Europe tour.
[edit] Film
The stadium has also on occasion been used as a venue for shooting film and television productions. "Dalek", an episode of the 2005 season of the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, was shot primarily on location at the stadium, using its underground areas to stand in for an underground base in Utah, United States in the year 2012. The location shooting for the episode took place during October and November 2004. The underground areas of the stadium were used again in Doctor Who for the 2005 Christmas special, "The Christmas Invasion". The area was used as the headquarters for UNIT, based under the Tower of London. The episode was broadcast on Christmas Day 2005. The Hindi film Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham was also filmed there.
The Wembley Stadium scene in the film 28 Weeks Later was actually filmed at the Millennium Stadium. Although the outside is footage of Wembley, the inside is all filmed in Cardiff. The effects team on the film edited the footage to make it look more like Wembley.[14]
[edit] Other
Tina Turner performed a sold-out concert at the stadium during her highly successful Twenty Four Seven Tour.
In 2006, the venue hosted its first boxing event, with Welsh stars dominating the card. Another event was held in 2007, including a fight between welshman Joe Calzaghe who beat Mikkel Kessler from Denmark.[15] In a break from convention for this fight, seating was not limited to half the venue. Instead, the whole stadium will be used to seat spectators.
The stadium has also been used for a variety of musical events, the most famous being the Manic Street Preachers concert held on Millennium Eve, and, on the following day, a recording of the BBC's Songs of Praise, which attracted an attendance of 65,000. At the end of January 2005, the stadium hosted a charity concert in aid of the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, with Eric Clapton headlining the event. The stadium has also hosted Madonna, Robbie Williams, U2, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Rolling Stones, Bon Jovi and The Police. In 2008 the stadium will also host Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band as part of their 2008 summer tour promoting Springsteen's 23rd album Magic, along with Neil Diamond and R.E.M., as part of their 2008 European Tour.
Madonna is set to perform at the stadium on 23rd August 2008, the opening night of the European leg of her Sticky & Sweet Tour.
Finally, the stadium was the host site for the 2004 Interhash. InterHash is a biennial (every 2 years) event, the granddaddy of periodic international Hash House Harriers events, where Hashers from different groups get together to run and drink beer together[16].
[edit] Millennium Stadium Charitable Trust
The Millennium Stadium Charitable Trust was established between the Millennium Stadium plc and the Millennium Commission when the stadium was built. The income from the trust comes from a levy on every ticket sold for events at the stadium that are iopen to the public.
The Trust gives priority to youth programmes in sport, arts, the environment and the community. Local, regional and national organisations can apply for funding, and they can receive up to £2,000, £10,000 and £20,000 respectively.
[edit] See also
- Rugby union in Wales
- Wales national rugby union team
- Wales national football team
- Speedway Grand Prix of Great Britain
- List of football clubs' appearances at the Millennium Stadium
[edit] References
- ^ Millennium Stadium Information
- ^ The architects of the Millennium Stadium
- ^ www.panstadia.com
- ^ www.millenniumstadium.com
- ^ www.millenniumstadium.com
- ^ BBC Two years - and one awesome stadium
- ^ Cardiff stadium 'financial disaster'
- ^ Millennium Stadium celebrates fifth anniversary. NewsWales (2004-06-25).
- ^ Wales 30 Scotland 15. wru.co.uk (2008-02-09). Retrieved on 2008-03-20. “Wales 30 Scotland 15.”
- ^ BBC Sport Online's Mark Barden looks at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium
- ^ Millennium Stadium Hawk Takes A Break. Millennium Stadium (2007-03-22).
- ^ Presidents of the WRU
- ^ Bevan, Nathan (2007-07-08). Concrete cancer strikes stadium. Wales On Sunday. Retrieved on 2007-08-24.
- ^ Titles with locations including Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. Internet Movie Database.
- ^ Calzaghe v Kessler -3/11/07. joecalzaghe.com (2007-07-11).
- ^ Interhash 2004 Cardiff 22 – 25 JULY
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Ellis Park Johannesburg |
Rugby World Cup Final Venue 1999 |
Succeeded by ANZ Stadium Sydney |
| Preceded by Twickenham London |
Heineken Cup Final Venue 2001-02 |
Succeeded by Lansdowne Road Dublin |
| Preceded by Murrayfield Edinburgh |
Heineken Cup Final Venue 2005-06 |
Succeeded by Twickenham London |
| Preceded by Wembley Stadium London |
FA Cup Final Venue 2001-2006 |
Succeeded by Wembley Stadium London |
| Preceded by Brandon Speedway Coventry |
Speedway Grand Prix British SGP Venue 2001-07 |
Succeeded by Incumbent N/A |
| Preceded by Twickenham London |
Heineken Cup Final Venue 2007-08 |
Succeeded by Murrayfield Edinburgh |
