Cardiff Arms Park
Encyclopedia
Cardiff Arms Park also known as The Arms Park, is primarily known as a rugby union
stadium
, but it also has a bowling green
, and is situated in the centre of Cardiff
, Wales. The Arms Park was host to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games
in 1958, and hosted four games in the 1991 Rugby World Cup
, including the 3rd / 4th place play-off. The Arms Park also hosted the inaugural Heineken Cup
final of 1995-6 and the following year in 1996-7.
The history of the rugby ground begins with the first stands
appearing for spectators in the ground in 1881–1882. Originally the Arms Park had a cricket ground to the north and a rugby union stadium to the south. By 1969, the cricket ground had been demolished to make way for the present day Cardiff rugby ground to the north and a second rugby stadium to the south, called the National Stadium. The National Stadium, which was used by Wales national rugby union team
, was officially opened on 7 April 1984, however in 1997 it was demolished to make way for the Millennium Stadium
in 1999, which hosted the 1999 Rugby World Cup
and became the national stadium
of Wales. The Cardiff rugby ground has remained the home of the semi-professional
Cardiff RFC despite the professional Cardiff Blues
regional rugby union team moving to the Cardiff City Stadium in August 2009. The site is owned by Cardiff Athletic Club
and a decision on the future of the Arms Park has yet to be made.
The site has been host to many sports, apart from rugby union and cricket; they include athletics, association football, greyhound racing
, tennis
, British baseball
and boxing
. The site also has a bowling green
to the north of Cardiff rugby ground, which is used by Cardiff Athletic Bowls Club, which is the bowls section of the Cardiff Athletic Club. The National Stadium also hosted many music concerts including David Bowie
, The Rolling Stones
, U2
and Michael Jackson
.
/pub
, however by 1878, the building had been demolished.
From 1803, the Cardiff Arms Hotel and the Park had become the property of the Bute
family. The Arms Park soon became a popular place for sporting events, and by 1848, Cardiff Cricket Club was using the site for its cricket matches. The 3rd Marquess of Bute
stipulated that the ground could only be used for "recreational purposes". At that time Cardiff Arms Park had a cricket
ground to the north and a rugby union ground to the south.
1881–2 saw the first stands for spectators; they held 300 spectators and cost GB£50. The architect was Archibald Leitch
, famous for designing Ibrox Stadium
and Old Trafford
, amongst others. In 1890, new standing areas were constructed along the entire length of the ground, with additional stands erected in 1896.
(WRU). The opening ceremony took place on 5 October 1912, with a match between Newport RFC and Cardiff RFC. The new ground was opened by Lord Ninian Crichton-Stuart. This new development increased the ground capacity to 43,000 and much improved the facilities at the ground compared to the earlier stands.
In 1922 John Crichton-Stuart, 4th Marquess of Bute
, had sold the entire site and it was bought by the Cardiff Arms Park Company Limited for GB£30,000, it was then leased to the Cardiff Athletic Club (cricket and rugby sections) for 99 years at a cost of £200 per annum.
had been badly damaged in the Blitz
by the Luftwaffe
during the Second World War.
At a general meeting of the WRU in June 1953, they made a decision, "That until such time as the facilities at Swansea
were improved, all international matches be played at Cardiff". At the same time, plans were made for a new South Stand, which was estimated to cost £60,000, however the tender price came out at GB£90,000, a compromise was made, and it was decided to build a new upper South Stand costing £64,000 instead, with the Cardiff Athletic Club contributing £15,000 and the remainder coming from the WRU. The new South Stand opened in 1956, in time for the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. This brought the overall capacity of the Arms Park up to 60,000, of which 12,800 spectators were seated and the remained standing.
The Arms Park hosted the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, which was used for the athletics events, but this event caused damage to the drainage system, so much so, that other rugby unions (England
, Scotland
and Ireland
) complained after the Games about the state of the pitch. On 4 December 1960, due to torrential rain, the River Taff
burst its banks with the Arms Park pitch being left under 4 feet (1.2 m) of water. The Development Committee was set up to resolve these issues on a permanent basis. They looked at various sites in Cardiff, but they all proved to be unsatisfactory. They also could not agree a solution with the Cardiff Athletic Club, so they purchased about 80 acres (323,748.8 m²) of land at Island Farm in Bridgend
, which was previously used as a prisoner-of-war camp
. It is best known for the being the camp where the biggest escape attempt was made by German prisoners of war
in Great Britain during the Second World War. Due to problems including transport issues Glamorgan County Council never gave outline planning permission for the proposals and by June 1964 the scheme was abandoned. At that stage, the cricket ground to the north was still being used by Glamorgan County Cricket Club
, and the rugby union ground to the south was used by the national Wales team and Cardiff RFC.
By 7 October 1966, the first floodlit game was held at Cardiff Arms Park, a game in which Cardiff RFC beat the Barbarians
by 12 points to 8.
and Andrew Scott & Company of Port Talbot
.
After agreement from the Cardiff Athletic Club, the freehold of the south ground was transferred solely to the WRU in July 1968. Work could then begin on the new National Stadium. Glamorgan County Cricket Club would move to Sophia Gardens
and the cricket ground to the north would be demolished and a new rugby union stadium built for Cardiff RFC, who would move out of the south ground, allowing the National Stadium to be built, for the sole use of the national rugby union team.
On 17 October 1970, the new North Stand and the Cardiff RFC
ground was completed, the North Stand cost just over GB£1 million. The West Stand was opened in 1977 and the new East Terrace was completed by March 1980. By the time the final South Stand had been completed and the Stadium officially opened on 7 April 1984, the South Stand had cost £4.5M. At the start of the project, the total cost was estimated at £2.25M, although by time it was finished in 1984, it had risen by nearly four times that amount.
The two stadiums on the site both had approximately east-west alignment; the Cardiff rugby ground to the north (Castle Street) end, and the National Stadium to the south (Wood Street) end. The original capacity was 65,000 but this had to be reduced in later years to 53,000 for safety reasons. 11,000 of these were on the East Terrace and the conversion to all-seater stadium
would have reduced the stadium capacity still further to 47,500. This capacity would have been much less than Twickenham
and the other major rugby venues and also less than the demand for tickets to major events.
A world record crowd of 56,000 for a rugby union club match watched Llanelli RFC
beat Neath RFC
by 28 points to 13 points in the final of the Schweppes Cup (WRU Challenge Cup
) on 7 May 1988. The first evening game to be played under floodlights
was held on 4 September 1991 at 8.00pm, between Wales and France
. The last international match to be held at the National Stadium was between Wales and England
on 15 March 1997, and the last ever match that was held at the National Stadium was on 26 April 1997 between Cardiff and Swansea
, Cardiff won the SWALEC Cup (WRU Challenge Cup
) by 33 points to 26 points.
Stand in August 2002, and the South Stand. Both the Bmibaby Stand and the South Stand have terracing
below seating. The other ends of the ground are the Westgate Street end (east), which has rows of seating below executive boxes
, plus the club shop, and the River Taff end (west), which has 26 executive boxes. Cardiff rugby ground has two main entrances, the south entrance, and the Gwyn Nicholls Memorial Gates (north entrance), which was unveiled on 26 December 1949 in honour of the Welsh international rugby player Gwyn Nicholls
. The Cardiff Athletic Clubhouse is situated in the corner of the ground between the South Stand and the Westgate Street end.
The South Stand of the Cardiff rugby ground formed a complete unit with the North Stand of the National Stadium. Now the same structure of the South Stand of the Cardiff rugby ground is also physically attached to the North Stand of the Millennium Stadium. This section is known colloquially as Glanmor's Gap, after Glanmor Griffiths, former chair and President of the WRU. This came about because the WRU were unable to secure enough funding to include the North Stand in the Millennium Stadium, and the National Lottery
Commission would not provide any additional funds to be used for the construction of a new ground for Cardiff RFC. The Millennium Stadium was therefore built with the old reinforced concrete
structure of the National Stadium (North Stand) and the new steel Millennium Stadium structure built around it.
There is doubt about the future of the Arms Park after 2010 following the move of the Cardiff Blues
to the Cardiff City Stadium. Cardiff RFC Ltd, the company that runs Cardiff Blues and Cardiff RFC, still has a 15-year lease on the Arms Park, but talks are underway to release the rugby club from the terms of the lease, to enable the Millennium Stadium
to be redeveloped with a new North Stand and adjoining convention centre. However, it still has the original requirement on the lease, that the land will only be used for "recreational purposes", as stipulated by the Bute family. But the Arms Park site is a prime piece of real estate
in the centre of Cardiff, which means that it may be difficult to sell the land to property developers. The estimated value of the whole Arms Park site could be at least GB£25 million, although with the "recreational use" requirement, its actual value could be a lot less than that figure. A decision by Cardiff Athletic Club on the future of the Arms Park has yet to be made. In 2011, the Cardiff Blues
regional rugby union team made a £6M bid for the Arms Park, later the WRU made an increased bid of £10M for the site. Both bids were rejected by the trustees of the Cardiff Athletic Club.
The Club has produced two Welsh international bowlers; Mr. C Standfast in 1937 and Mr. B Hawkins who represented Wales in the 1982 World Pairs and captained Wales in 1982 and 1984.
The Riverside Football Club, founded in 1899, played some matches at the Arms Park until 1910, when they moved to Ninian Park
, and later became Cardiff City Football Club
.
On 31 May 1989, Wales
played its first international game against West Germany
at the National Stadium in a World Cup qualifying match
, which ended goalless. It was also the first ever international football match held in Great Britain that was watched by all-seater spectators.
events, on what had been the greyhound
track. It would turn out to be the last time that South Africa would participate in the Games
until 1994. South Africa withdrew from the Commonwealth Games
in 1961.
was established early on in Cardiff, and one of the earliest of games to be held at the Arms Park was on 18 May 1918. It was a charity match in aid of the Prisoner of War Fund between Welsh and American teams of the U.S. Beaufort & U.S. Jupiter. British baseball
matches have also regularly taken place at the Arms Park and hosted the annual England versus Wales international game every four years. The games are now usually held at Roath Park
.
on 1 October 1993, at the National Stadium with a World Boxing Council
(WBC) Heavyweight
title bout between Lennox Lewis and Frank Bruno
. It was the first time that two British-born boxers had fought for the world heavyweight title. Lewis
beat Bruno
by a technical knockout
in the 7th round, in what was called the "Battle of Britain". On 30 September 1995, Steve Robinson the World Boxing Organization
(WBO) World Featherweight Champion, lost against Prince Naseem Hamed
at the Cardiff rugby ground in 8 rounds.
The first boxing contest held at the Arms Park was on 24 January 1914, when Bombadier Billy Wells beat Gaston Pigot by a knockout
in the first round of a 20 round contest. Boxing contests were held later on 14 June 1943, 12 August 1944, 4 October 1951 and 10 September 1952.
county, played their first match at Cardiff Arms Park in June 1869, against Monmouthshire. They played their first-ever County Championship
match there in 1921, competing there every season (except while first-class cricket was suspended during the Second World War), their last match being against Somerset
in August 1966. Glamorgan then moved to a new ground Sophia Gardens
on the opposite bank of the River Taff to the Arms Park, following work on the creation of a national rugby stadium, later named the National Stadium.
The first first-class cricket match actually to be held on the ground was between West of England and East of England, on 20 June 1910. In all more than 240 first-class cricket
matches were played at Cardiff Arms Park.
Only one List A game was ever played at the ground, and this was only the second match of its type: Glamorgan's Gillette Cup fixture against Somerset
on 22 May 1963. Except for the aforementioned 1910 game, the only major match not to involve Glamorgan was a Test Trial in July 1932, which was badly affected by the weather and saw play on only one of the scheduled three days.
in 1937, with Cardiff Athletic Club, the owners of the Arms Park, having no rights to break the agreement or to review the rental until the 50 years were up. However the last greyhound race was actually held at the National Stadium was on 30 July 1977.
In 1876, the Cardiff RFC was formed and soon after they also used the park. On 12 April 1884, the first international match was played at the ground between Wales and Ireland
, when 5,000 people watched Wales beat Ireland by 2 tries and a drop goal to nil.
The Arms Park rugby ground became the permanent home of the Wales national rugby union team
in 1964. Later, the National Stadium was also home to the WRU Challenge Cup
from 1972 until the last ever match held at the Stadium on 26 April 1997, at a much reduced capacity, between Cardiff RFC and Swansea RFC
. Cardiff RFC won the match by 33 point to 26, with the last ever Arms Park try scored by Swansea Second Row Steve Moore.
The National Stadium is best known as the venue for what is considered to be "the greatest try ever scored" by Gareth Edwards
for the Barbarians
against the New Zealand All Blacks
in what is also called "the greatest match ever played" on 27 January 1973. The final score was 23 points to 11 to the Barbarians (this translates to 27 points to 13, in today's scoring system).
The scorers were:
Barbarians: Tries
: Gareth Edwards
, Fergus Slattery
, John Bevan, J P R Williams
; Conversions: Phil Bennett
(2); Penalty
: Phil Bennett.
All Blacks: Tries: Grant Batty
(2); Penalty: Joseph Karam.
The National Stadium hosted four games in the 1991 Rugby World Cup
, including the 3rd / 4th place play-off. The National Stadium was also host to the inaugural Heineken Cup final
of 1995-6
when Toulouse
beat Cardiff RFC by 21 to 18 after extra time, in front of 21,800 spectators. The following final in 1996-7
was also held at the National Stadium, this time it was between Brive
and Leicester Tigers
. Brive won the match 28 points to 9, in front of a crowd of 41,664. The Heineken Cup is Europe's premier Rugby Union
club competition.
In 2008, the Cardiff rugby ground hosted all the games in Pool A of the 2008 IRB Junior World Championship
and also the semi-final on 18 June 2008, in which England
beat South Africa
26–18.
The last professional rugby union game to take place at the Cardiff rugby ground was on 17 May 2009, when Edinburgh beat the Cardiff Blues 36–14 in a Celtic League
match during the 2008–09 season.
16th April 2011, saw the National Association of Medical Schools Rugby Final Day. The day included two matches in the plate and cup competition. The United Bristol Hospitals RFC defeated Leicester Medicals 20-3 in the plate competition, while Cardiff beat Nottingham 21-12 in the cup.
, Michael Jackson
, The Rolling Stones
, Dire Straits
, Bon Jovi
and R.E.M.
The last music concert was held on 14 July 1996. Jehovah's Witnesses
held their annual conventions at the National Stadium.
", "Calon Lân
", "Men of Harlech
" and "Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau
" ("Land of my Fathers" - the national anthem
of Wales). The legendary atmosphere including singing of the crowd was said to be worth at least a try or a goal to the home nation. This tradition of singing has now passed onto the Millennium Stadium.
The Arms Park has its own choir, called the Cardiff Arms Park Male Choir
. It was formed in 1966 as the Cardiff Athletic Club Male Voice Choir, and today performs internationally with a schedule of concerts and tours. In 2000, the choir changed their name to become the Cardiff Arms Park Male Choir.
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
stadium
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
, but it also has a bowling green
Bowling green
A bowling green is a finely-laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of lawn for playing the game of lawn bowls.Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep on them...
, and is situated in the centre of Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, Wales. The Arms Park was host to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games
1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
The 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Cardiff, capital of Wales from 18–26 July 1958.Thirty-five nations sent a total of 1,130 athletes and 228 officials to the Cardiff Games and 23 countries and dependencies won medals, including, for the first time, Singapore, Ghana, Kenya...
in 1958, and hosted four games in the 1991 Rugby World Cup
1991 Rugby World Cup
The 1991 Rugby World Cup was the second edition of the Rugby World Cup, and was jointly hosted by England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France; at that time, the five European countries that participated in the Five Nations Championship making it the first Rugby World Cup to be staged in the...
, including the 3rd / 4th place play-off. The Arms Park also hosted the inaugural Heineken Cup
Heineken Cup
The Heineken Cup is one of two annual rugby union competitions organised by European Rugby Cup involving leading club, regional and provincial teams from the six International Rugby Board countries in Europe whose national teams compete in the Six Nations Championship: England, France, Ireland,...
final of 1995-6 and the following year in 1996-7.
The history of the rugby ground begins with the first stands
Bleacher
Bleachers is an American term used to describe the raised, tiered rows of seats found at sports fields or at other spectator events...
appearing for spectators in the ground in 1881–1882. Originally the Arms Park had a cricket ground to the north and a rugby union stadium to the south. By 1969, the cricket ground had been demolished to make way for the present day Cardiff rugby ground to the north and a second rugby stadium to the south, called the National Stadium. The National Stadium, which was used by Wales national rugby union team
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
, was officially opened on 7 April 1984, however in 1997 it was demolished to make way for the Millennium Stadium
Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage...
in 1999, which hosted the 1999 Rugby World Cup
1999 Rugby World Cup
The 1999 Rugby World Cup was the fourth Rugby World Cup, and the first to be held in rugby union's professional era. The principal host nation was Wales, although the majority of matches were played outside the country, shared between England, France, Scotland and Ireland...
and became the national stadium
National stadium
Many countries have a national football stadium, which typically serves as the primary or exclusive home for one or more of a country's national representative sports teams. The term is most often used in reference to an association football stadium. Usually, a national stadium will be in or very...
of Wales. The Cardiff rugby ground has remained the home of the semi-professional
Semi-professional
A semi-professional athlete is one who is paid to play and thus is not an amateur, but for whom sport is not a full-time occupation, generally because the level of pay is too low to make a reasonable living based solely upon that source, thus making the athlete not a full professional...
Cardiff RFC despite the professional Cardiff Blues
Cardiff Blues
Cardiff Blues are one of the four professional Welsh regional rugby union teams. Based in Cardiff, the capital of Wales, the team have played at Cardiff City Stadium since the start of the 2009/2010 season and are owned by Cardiff Rugby Football Club....
regional rugby union team moving to the Cardiff City Stadium in August 2009. The site is owned by Cardiff Athletic Club
Cardiff Athletic Club
Cardiff Athletic Club is a multi-sport club in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. It is the owner of the world famous Cardiff Arms Park rugby ground, however, it is also a major shareholder of Cardiff Rugby Football Club Ltd and therefore has a large influence over the rugby club's two...
and a decision on the future of the Arms Park has yet to be made.
The site has been host to many sports, apart from rugby union and cricket; they include athletics, association football, greyhound racing
Greyhound racing
Greyhound racing is the sport of racing greyhounds. The dogs chase a lure on a track until they arrive at the finish line. The one that arrives first is the winner....
, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, British baseball
British baseball
British baseball, sometimes called Welsh baseball, or in the areas where it is popular simply baseball, is a bat-and-ball game played primarily in Wales and England. It is closely related to the game of rounders, and indeed emerged as a distinct sport when governing bodies in Wales and England...
and boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
. The site also has a bowling green
Bowling green
A bowling green is a finely-laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of lawn for playing the game of lawn bowls.Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep on them...
to the north of Cardiff rugby ground, which is used by Cardiff Athletic Bowls Club, which is the bowls section of the Cardiff Athletic Club. The National Stadium also hosted many music concerts including David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
, U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
and Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
.
Early history of the site
The Cardiff Arms Park site was originally called the Great Park, a swampy meadow behind the Cardiff Arms Hotel. Cardiff Arms Park was named after this hotelHotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
/pub
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
, however by 1878, the building had been demolished.
From 1803, the Cardiff Arms Hotel and the Park had become the property of the Bute
Marquess of Bute
Marquess of the County of Bute, shortened in general usage to Marquess of Bute, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1796 for John Stuart, 4th Earl of Bute.-Family history:...
family. The Arms Park soon became a popular place for sporting events, and by 1848, Cardiff Cricket Club was using the site for its cricket matches. The 3rd Marquess of Bute
John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute
John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute KT, KSG, KGCHS was a landed aristocrat, industrial magnate, antiquarian, scholar, philanthropist and architectural patron.-Early life:...
stipulated that the ground could only be used for "recreational purposes". At that time Cardiff Arms Park had a cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
ground to the north and a rugby union ground to the south.
Archibald Leitch
Archibald "Offside Archie" Leitch was a Scottish architect, most famous for his work designing football stadia throughout the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.-Early work:...
, famous for designing Ibrox Stadium
Ibrox Stadium
Ibrox Stadium is a football stadium located on the south side of the River Clyde, on Edmiston Drive in the Ibrox district of Glasgow. It is the home ground of Scottish Premier League club Rangers and has an all-seated capacity of 51,082...
and Old Trafford
Old Trafford
Old Trafford commonly refers to two sporting arenas:* Old Trafford, home of Manchester United F.C.* Old Trafford Cricket Ground, home of Lancashire County Cricket ClubOld Trafford can also refer to:...
, amongst others. In 1890, new standing areas were constructed along the entire length of the ground, with additional stands erected in 1896.
Redevelopment of 1912
By 1912 the Cardiff Football Ground, as it was then known, had a new south stand and temporary stands on the north, east and west ends of the ground. The south stand was covered, while the north terrace was initially without a roof. The improvements were partly funded by the Welsh Rugby UnionWelsh Rugby Union
The Welsh Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union in Wales, recognised by the International Rugby Board.The union's patron is Queen Elizabeth II, and her grandson Prince William of Wales became the Vice Royal Patron of the Welsh Rugby Union as of February 2007.-History:The roots of the...
(WRU). The opening ceremony took place on 5 October 1912, with a match between Newport RFC and Cardiff RFC. The new ground was opened by Lord Ninian Crichton-Stuart. This new development increased the ground capacity to 43,000 and much improved the facilities at the ground compared to the earlier stands.
In 1922 John Crichton-Stuart, 4th Marquess of Bute
John Crichton-Stuart, 4th Marquess of Bute
John Crichton-Stuart, 4th Marquess of Bute KT was a Scottish peer, the son of John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute....
, had sold the entire site and it was bought by the Cardiff Arms Park Company Limited for GB£30,000, it was then leased to the Cardiff Athletic Club (cricket and rugby sections) for 99 years at a cost of £200 per annum.
North and South Stand redevelopments
During 1934 the cricket pavilion had been demolished to make way for the new North Stand, which was built on the rugby union ground, costing around £20,000. However in 1941 the new North Stand and part of the west terracingTerrace (stadium)
A terrace or terracing in sporting terms refers to the traditional standing area of a sports stadium, particularly in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
had been badly damaged in the Blitz
The Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
by the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
during the Second World War.
At a general meeting of the WRU in June 1953, they made a decision, "That until such time as the facilities at Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
were improved, all international matches be played at Cardiff". At the same time, plans were made for a new South Stand, which was estimated to cost £60,000, however the tender price came out at GB£90,000, a compromise was made, and it was decided to build a new upper South Stand costing £64,000 instead, with the Cardiff Athletic Club contributing £15,000 and the remainder coming from the WRU. The new South Stand opened in 1956, in time for the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. This brought the overall capacity of the Arms Park up to 60,000, of which 12,800 spectators were seated and the remained standing.
Rugby Football Union
The Rugby Football Union was founded in 1871 as the governing body for the sport of rugby union, and performed as the international governing body prior to the formation of the International Rugby Board in 1886...
, Scotland
Scottish Rugby Union
The Scottish Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union in Scotland. It is the second oldest Rugby Union, having been founded in 1873, as the Scottish Football Union.-History:...
and Ireland
Irish Rugby Football Union
The Irish Rugby Football Union is the body managing rugby union in Ireland. The IRFU has its head office at 10/12 Lansdowne Road and home ground at Aviva Stadium, where Irish rugby union international matches are played...
) complained after the Games about the state of the pitch. On 4 December 1960, due to torrential rain, the River Taff
River Taff
The River Taff is a large river in Wales. It rises as two rivers in the Brecon Beacons — the Taf Fechan and the Taf Fawr — before joining to form the Taff north of Merthyr Tydfil...
burst its banks with the Arms Park pitch being left under 4 feet (1.2 m) of water. The Development Committee was set up to resolve these issues on a permanent basis. They looked at various sites in Cardiff, but they all proved to be unsatisfactory. They also could not agree a solution with the Cardiff Athletic Club, so they purchased about 80 acres (323,748.8 m²) of land at Island Farm in Bridgend
Bridgend
Bridgend is a town in the Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of the capital, Cardiff. The river crossed by the original bridge, which gave the town its name, is the River Ogmore but the River Ewenny also passes to the south of the town...
, which was previously used as a prisoner-of-war camp
Prisoner-of-war camp
A prisoner-of-war camp is a site for the containment of combatants captured by their enemy in time of war, and is similar to an internment camp which is used for civilian populations. A prisoner of war is generally a soldier, sailor, or airman who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or...
. It is best known for the being the camp where the biggest escape attempt was made by German prisoners of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
in Great Britain during the Second World War. Due to problems including transport issues Glamorgan County Council never gave outline planning permission for the proposals and by June 1964 the scheme was abandoned. At that stage, the cricket ground to the north was still being used by Glamorgan County Cricket Club
Glamorgan County Cricket Club
Glamorgan County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Glamorgan aka Glamorganshire . Glamorgan CCC is the only Welsh first-class cricket club. Glamorgan CCC have won the English County...
, and the rugby union ground to the south was used by the national Wales team and Cardiff RFC.
By 7 October 1966, the first floodlit game was held at Cardiff Arms Park, a game in which Cardiff RFC beat the Barbarians
Barbarian F.C.
The Barbarian Football Club, usually referred to as the Barbarians and nicknamed the "Baa-Baas", is an invitational rugby union team based in Britain...
by 12 points to 8.
National Stadium
The National Stadium, which was also known as the Welsh National Rugby Ground, was designed by Osborne V Webb & Partners and built by G A Williamson & Associates of PorthcawlPorthcawl
Porthcawl is a town on the south coast of Wales in the county borough of Bridgend, 25 miles west of the capital city, Cardiff and 19 miles southeast of Swansea...
and Andrew Scott & Company of Port Talbot
Port Talbot
Port Talbot is a town in Neath Port Talbot, Wales. It had a population of 35,633 in 2001.-History:Port Talbot grew out of the original small port and market town of Aberafan , which belonged to the medieval Lords of Afan. The area of the parish of Margam lying on the west bank of the lower Afan...
.
After agreement from the Cardiff Athletic Club, the freehold of the south ground was transferred solely to the WRU in July 1968. Work could then begin on the new National Stadium. Glamorgan County Cricket Club would move to Sophia Gardens
Sophia Gardens
Sophia Gardens , currently known as SWALEC Stadium under a naming rights deal, is a cricket stadium on the west bank of the River Taff in Cardiff, 1.6 kilometres north of Cardiff Arms Park. It was named after Lady Sophia Rawdon-Hastings...
and the cricket ground to the north would be demolished and a new rugby union stadium built for Cardiff RFC, who would move out of the south ground, allowing the National Stadium to be built, for the sole use of the national rugby union team.
On 17 October 1970, the new North Stand and the Cardiff RFC
Cardiff RFC
Cardiff Rugby Football Club is a rugby union football club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, but soon relocated to Cardiff Arms Park where they have been based ever since...
ground was completed, the North Stand cost just over GB£1 million. The West Stand was opened in 1977 and the new East Terrace was completed by March 1980. By the time the final South Stand had been completed and the Stadium officially opened on 7 April 1984, the South Stand had cost £4.5M. At the start of the project, the total cost was estimated at £2.25M, although by time it was finished in 1984, it had risen by nearly four times that amount.
The two stadiums on the site both had approximately east-west alignment; the Cardiff rugby ground to the north (Castle Street) end, and the National Stadium to the south (Wood Street) end. The original capacity was 65,000 but this had to be reduced in later years to 53,000 for safety reasons. 11,000 of these were on the East Terrace and the conversion to all-seater stadium
All-seater stadium
An all-seater stadium is a sports stadium in which every spectator has a seat. This is commonplace in football stadiums in nations such as the United Kingdom, Spain, and the Netherlands. Most soccer and American football stadiums in the United States and Canada are all-seaters, as are most baseball...
would have reduced the stadium capacity still further to 47,500. This capacity would have been much less than Twickenham
Twickenham Stadium
Twickenham Stadium is a stadium located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is the largest rugby union stadium in the United Kingdom and has recently been enlarged to seat 82,000...
and the other major rugby venues and also less than the demand for tickets to major events.
A world record crowd of 56,000 for a rugby union club match watched Llanelli RFC
Llanelli RFC
Llanelli Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club founded in 1875 and its senior team is one of the leading club sides in Wales. The club began the 2008-09 season at their historic home ground of Stradey Park in Llanelli, but moved in November 2008 to the new Parc y Scarlets in adjacent...
beat Neath RFC
Neath RFC
Neath Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club which plays in the Welsh Premier Division. The club's home ground is The Gnoll, Neath. The first team is known as the Welsh All Blacks because of the team colours: black with only a white cross pattée as an emblem...
by 28 points to 13 points in the final of the Schweppes Cup (WRU Challenge Cup
WRU Challenge Cup
The WRU Challenge Cup , or its full name of the Welsh Rugby Union Challenge Cup, is Wales' premier knockout rugby union competition and is organised by the Welsh Rugby Union....
) on 7 May 1988. The first evening game to be played under floodlights
Floodlights (sport)
Floodlights are broad-beamed, high-intensity artificial lights often used to illuminate outdoor playing fields while an outdoor sports event is being held during low-light conditions....
was held on 4 September 1991 at 8.00pm, between Wales and France
France national rugby union team
The France national rugby union team represents France in rugby union. They compete annually against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the Six Nations Championship. They have won the championship outright sixteen times, shared it a further eight times, and have completed nine grand slams...
. The last international match to be held at the National Stadium was between Wales and England
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
on 15 March 1997, and the last ever match that was held at the National Stadium was on 26 April 1997 between Cardiff and Swansea
Swansea RFC
Swansea Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team which plays in the Welsh Premier Division. Its home ground is St Helens Rugby and Cricket Ground in Swansea. The team is sometimes known as The Whites because of the primary colour of the team strip...
, Cardiff won the SWALEC Cup (WRU Challenge Cup
WRU Challenge Cup
The WRU Challenge Cup , or its full name of the Welsh Rugby Union Challenge Cup, is Wales' premier knockout rugby union competition and is organised by the Welsh Rugby Union....
) by 33 points to 26 points.
Millennium Stadium
In 1997, just thirteen years after the National Stadium had opened, it was considered too small and did not have the facilities required of the time and it was demolished and a new stadium, the Millennium Stadium, was built in its place (completed to a north-south alignment and opened in June 1999). This would become the fourth redevelopment of the Cardiff Arms Park site. Although the Millennium Stadium is on roughly two thirds of the National Stadium, Cardiff Arms Park site, it is currently no longer using the Arms Park name. The official website confuses the issue as well, one part states that "The Millennium Stadium is located on Westgate Street in Cardiff; next to the Cardiff Arms Park". whereas another section specifically refers to the stadium as "The Millennium Stadium, on the Cardiff Arms Park"Cardiff rugby ground
Only the Cardiff rugby ground and the Cardiff Athletic Bowls Club now use the name Cardiff Arms Park. Cardiff rugby ground has two main stands, the North Stand, which was renamed the BmibabyBmibaby
Bmibaby Limited is a small British low-cost airline and a subsidiary of British Midland International. It flies to destinations in the UK and Europe from its bases at Belfast-City, Birmingham and East Midlands airports....
Stand in August 2002, and the South Stand. Both the Bmibaby Stand and the South Stand have terracing
Terrace (stadium)
A terrace or terracing in sporting terms refers to the traditional standing area of a sports stadium, particularly in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
below seating. The other ends of the ground are the Westgate Street end (east), which has rows of seating below executive boxes
Luxury box
A Luxury box is a special seating section located within stadiums, arenas and other sporting and entertainment venues. They are typically located in the midsection of a stadium grandstand, usually providing the best views of the event...
, plus the club shop, and the River Taff end (west), which has 26 executive boxes. Cardiff rugby ground has two main entrances, the south entrance, and the Gwyn Nicholls Memorial Gates (north entrance), which was unveiled on 26 December 1949 in honour of the Welsh international rugby player Gwyn Nicholls
Gwyn Nicholls
Erith Gwyn Nicholls was a Welsh rugby union player who gained 24 caps for Wales as a centre. Nicholls was known as the "Prince of Threequarters"....
. The Cardiff Athletic Clubhouse is situated in the corner of the ground between the South Stand and the Westgate Street end.
National Lottery (United Kingdom)
The National Lottery is the state-franchised national lottery in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man.It is operated by Camelot Group, to whom the licence was granted in 1994, 2001 and again in 2007. The lottery is regulated by the National Lottery Commission, and was established by the then...
Commission would not provide any additional funds to be used for the construction of a new ground for Cardiff RFC. The Millennium Stadium was therefore built with the old reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete is concrete in which reinforcement bars , reinforcement grids, plates or fibers have been incorporated to strengthen the concrete in tension. It was invented by French gardener Joseph Monier in 1849 and patented in 1867. The term Ferro Concrete refers only to concrete that is...
structure of the National Stadium (North Stand) and the new steel Millennium Stadium structure built around it.
There is doubt about the future of the Arms Park after 2010 following the move of the Cardiff Blues
Cardiff Blues
Cardiff Blues are one of the four professional Welsh regional rugby union teams. Based in Cardiff, the capital of Wales, the team have played at Cardiff City Stadium since the start of the 2009/2010 season and are owned by Cardiff Rugby Football Club....
to the Cardiff City Stadium. Cardiff RFC Ltd, the company that runs Cardiff Blues and Cardiff RFC, still has a 15-year lease on the Arms Park, but talks are underway to release the rugby club from the terms of the lease, to enable the Millennium Stadium
Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage...
to be redeveloped with a new North Stand and adjoining convention centre. However, it still has the original requirement on the lease, that the land will only be used for "recreational purposes", as stipulated by the Bute family. But the Arms Park site is a prime piece of real estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
in the centre of Cardiff, which means that it may be difficult to sell the land to property developers. The estimated value of the whole Arms Park site could be at least GB£25 million, although with the "recreational use" requirement, its actual value could be a lot less than that figure. A decision by Cardiff Athletic Club on the future of the Arms Park has yet to be made. In 2011, the Cardiff Blues
Cardiff Blues
Cardiff Blues are one of the four professional Welsh regional rugby union teams. Based in Cardiff, the capital of Wales, the team have played at Cardiff City Stadium since the start of the 2009/2010 season and are owned by Cardiff Rugby Football Club....
regional rugby union team made a £6M bid for the Arms Park, later the WRU made an increased bid of £10M for the site. Both bids were rejected by the trustees of the Cardiff Athletic Club.
Cardiff Athletic Bowls Club
Cardiff Arms Park is best known as a rugby union stadium, however Cardiff Athletic Bowls Club (CABC) was established in 1923, and ever since then, the club has used the Arms Park as its bowling club. The bowls club is a section of the Cardiff Athletic Club and shares many of the facilities of the Cardiff Arms Park athletics centre.The Club has produced two Welsh international bowlers; Mr. C Standfast in 1937 and Mr. B Hawkins who represented Wales in the 1982 World Pairs and captained Wales in 1982 and 1984.
Association football
Ninian Park
Ninian Park was a football stadium in Leckwith, Cardiff, Wales. Until 2009, it was the home ground of Cardiff City F.C., who compete in the English Football League Championship...
, and later became Cardiff City Football Club
Cardiff City F.C.
Cardiff City Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Cardiff, Wales. The club competes in the English football pyramid and is currently playing in the Football League Championship. Cardiff City is the best supported football club in Wales, averaging approximately 22,500 for...
.
On 31 May 1989, Wales
Wales national football team
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...
played its first international game against West Germany
Germany national football team
The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....
at the National Stadium in a World Cup qualifying match
1990 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 4
The 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification UEFA Group 4 was a UEFA qualifying group for the 1990 FIFA World Cup. The group comprised Finland, European champions the Netherlands, Wales and West Germany....
, which ended goalless. It was also the first ever international football match held in Great Britain that was watched by all-seater spectators.
Athletics
In 1958, the British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Cardiff. The event has been the biggest sporting event ever held in Wales, however it would not have been possible without the financial support given by the WRU and the Cardiff Athletic Club. Both the opening and closing ceremonies took place at Cardiff Arms Park, plus all the track and fieldTrack and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
events, on what had been the greyhound
Greyhound
The Greyhound is a breed of sighthound that has been primarily bred for coursing game and racing, and the breed has also recently seen a resurgence in its popularity as a pedigree show dog and family pet. It is a gentle and intelligent breed...
track. It would turn out to be the last time that South Africa would participate in the Games
South Africa at the Commonwealth Games
South Africa has competed at ten of the eighteen Commonwealth Games which have been held; from the original Games in 1930 to 1958, and from 1994....
until 1994. South Africa withdrew from the Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and takes place every four years....
in 1961.
Baseball & British baseball
BaseballBaseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
was established early on in Cardiff, and one of the earliest of games to be held at the Arms Park was on 18 May 1918. It was a charity match in aid of the Prisoner of War Fund between Welsh and American teams of the U.S. Beaufort & U.S. Jupiter. British baseball
British baseball
British baseball, sometimes called Welsh baseball, or in the areas where it is popular simply baseball, is a bat-and-ball game played primarily in Wales and England. It is closely related to the game of rounders, and indeed emerged as a distinct sport when governing bodies in Wales and England...
matches have also regularly taken place at the Arms Park and hosted the annual England versus Wales international game every four years. The games are now usually held at Roath Park
Roath Park
Roath Park Cardiff, Wales, is one of Cardiff's most popular parks, owned by Cardiff County Council and managed by the Parks Section. It retains a classic Victorian atmosphere and has many facilities. The park has recently been awarded the prestigious Green Flag award to recognise its high quality...
.
Boxing
Around 25,000 spectators watched international boxingBoxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
on 1 October 1993, at the National Stadium with a World Boxing Council
World Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
(WBC) Heavyweight
Heavyweight
Heavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...
title bout between Lennox Lewis and Frank Bruno
Lennox Lewis vs. Frank Bruno
Lennox Lewis vs. Frank Bruno, also known as the Battle of Britain, was a boxing match that took place on 1 October 1993, at the National Stadium, Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff, Wales...
. It was the first time that two British-born boxers had fought for the world heavyweight title. Lewis
Lennox Lewis
Lennox Claudius Lewis, CM, CBE is a retired boxer and the most recent British undisputed world heavyweight champion. He holds dual British and Canadian citizenship...
beat Bruno
Frank Bruno
Franklin Roy Bruno MBE is an English former boxer whose career highlight was winning the WBC Heavyweight championship in 1995. Altogether, he won 40 of his 45 contests...
by a technical knockout
Knockout
A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...
in the 7th round, in what was called the "Battle of Britain". On 30 September 1995, Steve Robinson the World Boxing Organization
World Boxing Organization
The World Boxing Organization is a sanctioning organization currently recognizing professional boxing world champions. The organization is recognized as one of the four major world championship groups by the IBHOF alongside the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Council and the...
(WBO) World Featherweight Champion, lost against Prince Naseem Hamed
Naseem Hamed
Naseem Hamed is an English former professional boxer.He is the former WBO, WBC, IBF, & Lineal featherweight champion, and European bantamweight champion....
at the Cardiff rugby ground in 8 rounds.
The first boxing contest held at the Arms Park was on 24 January 1914, when Bombadier Billy Wells beat Gaston Pigot by a knockout
Knockout
A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...
in the first round of a 20 round contest. Boxing contests were held later on 14 June 1943, 12 August 1944, 4 October 1951 and 10 September 1952.
Cricket
In 1845 Cardiff Cricket Club was formed, by 1848 they had moved to their new home at the Arms Park. Glamorgan Cricket Club, at the time not a first-classFirst-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
county, played their first match at Cardiff Arms Park in June 1869, against Monmouthshire. They played their first-ever County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
match there in 1921, competing there every season (except while first-class cricket was suspended during the Second World War), their last match being against Somerset
Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Somerset...
in August 1966. Glamorgan then moved to a new ground Sophia Gardens
Sophia Gardens
Sophia Gardens , currently known as SWALEC Stadium under a naming rights deal, is a cricket stadium on the west bank of the River Taff in Cardiff, 1.6 kilometres north of Cardiff Arms Park. It was named after Lady Sophia Rawdon-Hastings...
on the opposite bank of the River Taff to the Arms Park, following work on the creation of a national rugby stadium, later named the National Stadium.
The first first-class cricket match actually to be held on the ground was between West of England and East of England, on 20 June 1910. In all more than 240 first-class cricket
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
matches were played at Cardiff Arms Park.
Only one List A game was ever played at the ground, and this was only the second match of its type: Glamorgan's Gillette Cup fixture against Somerset
Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Somerset...
on 22 May 1963. Except for the aforementioned 1910 game, the only major match not to involve Glamorgan was a Test Trial in July 1932, which was badly affected by the weather and saw play on only one of the scheduled three days.
Greyhound racing
To help pay for the upkeep of the site, a greyhound track was opened in 1927. The Arms Park (Cardiff) Greyhound Racing Company Limited signed a 50-year leaseLease
A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the lessee to pay the lessor for use of an asset. A rental agreement is a lease in which the asset is tangible property...
in 1937, with Cardiff Athletic Club, the owners of the Arms Park, having no rights to break the agreement or to review the rental until the 50 years were up. However the last greyhound race was actually held at the National Stadium was on 30 July 1977.
Rugby union
Ireland national rugby union team
The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
, when 5,000 people watched Wales beat Ireland by 2 tries and a drop goal to nil.
The Arms Park rugby ground became the permanent home of the Wales national rugby union team
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
in 1964. Later, the National Stadium was also home to the WRU Challenge Cup
WRU Challenge Cup
The WRU Challenge Cup , or its full name of the Welsh Rugby Union Challenge Cup, is Wales' premier knockout rugby union competition and is organised by the Welsh Rugby Union....
from 1972 until the last ever match held at the Stadium on 26 April 1997, at a much reduced capacity, between Cardiff RFC and Swansea RFC
Swansea RFC
Swansea Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team which plays in the Welsh Premier Division. Its home ground is St Helens Rugby and Cricket Ground in Swansea. The team is sometimes known as The Whites because of the primary colour of the team strip...
. Cardiff RFC won the match by 33 point to 26, with the last ever Arms Park try scored by Swansea Second Row Steve Moore.
The National Stadium is best known as the venue for what is considered to be "the greatest try ever scored" by Gareth Edwards
Gareth Edwards
Gareth Owen Edwards CBE is a former Welsh rugby union footballer who played scrum-half and has been described by the BBC as "arguably the greatest player ever to don a Welsh jersey"....
for the Barbarians
Barbarian F.C.
The Barbarian Football Club, usually referred to as the Barbarians and nicknamed the "Baa-Baas", is an invitational rugby union team based in Britain...
against the New Zealand All Blacks
All Blacks
The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....
in what is also called "the greatest match ever played" on 27 January 1973. The final score was 23 points to 11 to the Barbarians (this translates to 27 points to 13, in today's scoring system).
The scorers were:
Barbarians: Tries
Try
A try is the major way of scoring points in rugby league and rugby union football. A try is scored by grounding the ball in the opposition's in-goal area...
: Gareth Edwards
Gareth Edwards
Gareth Owen Edwards CBE is a former Welsh rugby union footballer who played scrum-half and has been described by the BBC as "arguably the greatest player ever to don a Welsh jersey"....
, Fergus Slattery
Fergus Slattery
John Fergus Slattery is a former rugby union player who represented Ireland. He played schools rugby for Blackrock College and then moved on to play senior rugby for UCD, before earning a call up to the Ireland team in 1970. During his career Slattery earned 61 caps, 18 as captain, and scored 3...
, John Bevan, J P R Williams
J. P. R. Williams
Mr John Peter Rhys Williams, MBE, FRCS , is a British surgeon who was a very successful rugby union player. He was known universally as J.P.R. Williams . He played for Wales between 1969 and 1981...
; Conversions: Phil Bennett
Phil Bennett
Phillip Bennett was a Welsh international rugby union fly half from 1969 to 1978. His flair and range of tricks, including his famous sidestep and swerve, meant he was a firm favourite with crowds.-Rugby career:...
(2); Penalty
Penalty (rugby)
In rugby football, the penalty is the main disciplinary sanction available to the referee to penalise players who commit deliberate infringements. The team who did not commit the infringement are given possession of the ball and may either kick it towards touch , attempt a place kick at goal, or...
: Phil Bennett.
All Blacks: Tries: Grant Batty
Grant Batty
Grant Bernard Batty is a former rugby union footballer. A diminutive but effective wing for the All Blacks, he has also coached Yamaha Jubilo, a team in Japan's Top League. His son Sam Batty played halfback for the Gold Coast Breakers, However is now playing for Port Douglas, in the Cairns and...
(2); Penalty: Joseph Karam.
The National Stadium hosted four games in the 1991 Rugby World Cup
1991 Rugby World Cup
The 1991 Rugby World Cup was the second edition of the Rugby World Cup, and was jointly hosted by England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France; at that time, the five European countries that participated in the Five Nations Championship making it the first Rugby World Cup to be staged in the...
, including the 3rd / 4th place play-off. The National Stadium was also host to the inaugural Heineken Cup final
Heineken Cup finals
This article lists the results of the finals of the Heineken Cup. The Heineken Cup is Europe's premier rugby union club competition, and is analogous to the UEFA Champions League in football . Professional teams from England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, and Wales compete with each country...
of 1995-6
1995-96 Heineken Cup
The 1995–96 Heineken Cup was the first edition of the Heineken Cup, which was to become the annual rugby union European club competition for clubs from the top six nations in European rugby...
when Toulouse
Stade Toulousain
Stade Toulousain, also referred to as Toulouse, is a French rugby union club from Toulouse in Midi-Pyrénées. Toulouse is one of the finest rugby clubs in Europe, having won the Heineken Cup four times – in 1996, 2003, 2005 and 2010. They were also runners-up in 2004 and 2008 against London Wasps...
beat Cardiff RFC by 21 to 18 after extra time, in front of 21,800 spectators. The following final in 1996-7
1996-97 Heineken Cup
The 1996–97 Heineken Cup was the second edition of the Heineken Cup. Competing teams from France, Ireland, Italy, Wales and for the first time England and Scotland, were divided into four pools of five, in which teams played each other only once, meaning two home and two away games per team...
was also held at the National Stadium, this time it was between Brive
CA Brive
Club Athlétique Brive Corrèze Limousin is a French rugby union team founded in 1910 and based in Brive-la-Gaillarde in the département of Corrèze of the Limousin région . They wear black and white and play in the Stade Amédée-Domenech .- History :The club was created on 15 March 1910 established on...
and Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers is an English rugby union club that plays in the Aviva Premiership.Leicester are the most successful English club since the introduction of league rugby in 1987, a record 9 times English champions - 3 more than either Bath or Wasps, the last of which was in 2010...
. Brive won the match 28 points to 9, in front of a crowd of 41,664. The Heineken Cup is Europe's premier Rugby Union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
club competition.
In 2008, the Cardiff rugby ground hosted all the games in Pool A of the 2008 IRB Junior World Championship
2008 IRB Junior World Championship
9th-12th Place Playoffs5th-8th Places Playoffs1st place playoffs- Semi-finals :----- 3rd place playoffs :-Final:-External links:*...
and also the semi-final on 18 June 2008, in which England
Rugby Football Union
The Rugby Football Union was founded in 1871 as the governing body for the sport of rugby union, and performed as the international governing body prior to the formation of the International Rugby Board in 1886...
beat South Africa
South African Rugby Union
The South African Rugby Union is the governing body for rugby union in South Africa and is affiliated to the International Rugby Board...
26–18.
The last professional rugby union game to take place at the Cardiff rugby ground was on 17 May 2009, when Edinburgh beat the Cardiff Blues 36–14 in a Celtic League
Celtic League (rugby union)
The Celtic League is an annual rugby union competition involving professional sides from Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....
match during the 2008–09 season.
16th April 2011, saw the National Association of Medical Schools Rugby Final Day. The day included two matches in the plate and cup competition. The United Bristol Hospitals RFC defeated Leicester Medicals 20-3 in the plate competition, while Cardiff beat Nottingham 21-12 in the cup.
Music concerts
Major music concerts were also held at the National Stadium from 1987 until 1996, they included U2U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
, Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
, The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
, Dire Straits
Dire Straits
Dire Straits were a British rock band active from 1977 to 1995, composed of Mark Knopfler , his younger brother David Knopfler , John Illsley , and Pick Withers .Dire Straits' sound drew from a variety of musical influences, including jazz, folk, blues, and came closest...
, Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...
and R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
The last music concert was held on 14 July 1996. Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...
held their annual conventions at the National Stadium.
Singing tradition
The National Stadium was known primarily as the venue for massed voices singing such hymns as "Cwm RhonddaCwm Rhondda
Cwm Rhondda, the Welsh name for the Rhondda Valley, is a popular hymn tune written by John Hughes and first performed in 1907. It is often erroneously called Bread of Heaven and is usually used in English as a setting for William Williams's text Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah , originally...
", "Calon Lân
Calon Lan
Calon Lân is a Welsh hymn, the words of which were written in the 19th century by Daniel James to a tune by John Hughes ....
", "Men of Harlech
Men of Harlech
"Men of Harlech" or "The March of the Men of Harlech" is a song and military march which is traditionally said to describe events during the seven year long siege of Harlech Castle between 1461 and 1468. Commanded by Constable Dafydd ap Ieuan, the garrison held out in what is the longest known...
" and "Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau
Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau
Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau is the national anthem of Wales. The title – taken from the first words of the song – means "Old Land of My Fathers", usually rendered in English as simply "Land of My Fathers". The words were written by Evan James and the tune composed by his son, James James, both residents...
" ("Land of my Fathers" - the national anthem
National anthem
A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nation's government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people.- History :Anthems rose to prominence...
of Wales). The legendary atmosphere including singing of the crowd was said to be worth at least a try or a goal to the home nation. This tradition of singing has now passed onto the Millennium Stadium.
The Arms Park has its own choir, called the Cardiff Arms Park Male Choir
Cardiff Arms Park Male Choir
Cardiff Arms Park Male Choir is a choir based at Cardiff Arms Park in Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom.-History:On the 1st September 1966, following Cardiff RFC's 35-0 defeat of Cardiff & District, a group of supporters came up with idea of forming a choir to improve the standard of after-match singing...
. It was formed in 1966 as the Cardiff Athletic Club Male Voice Choir, and today performs internationally with a schedule of concerts and tours. In 2000, the choir changed their name to become the Cardiff Arms Park Male Choir.
External links
- Photographs of the National Stadium in April 1997, prior to demolition
- Gareth Edwards try for the Barbarians Vs All Blacks, 27 January 1973, at the National Stadium, Cardiff Arms Park
- Cardiff Arms Park Male Choir website
- The opening ceremony of the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, Cardiff Arms Park
- wikimapia.org image of Cardiff Arms Park
- Bill Hardiman (groundsman) profile