Cardiff Blues - Stadium and Tickets

Stadium History    

The Cardiff Arms Park site was originally called the Great Park, a swampy meadow behind the Cardiff Arms Hotel, which dated from the reign of Charles 1.

Cardiff Arms Park was named after this hotel.   

The story of the ground begins with the first stands appearing in 1881. 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 Cardiff rugby ground to the north and a second rugby stadium to the south-the National Stadium, to  be used by the Wales rugby team. Officially opened in 1984, it was demolished in 1997 to make way for the MillenniumStadium.

The Cardiff rugby ground has remained the home of the semi-professional Cardiff RFC, and the site is owned by Cardiff Athletic Club.

 On May 8 2012 it was announced that Cardiff Blues would be returning to the Arms Park on a permanent basis.

The Stadium: The Arms Park has two main stands, the North Stand, which was renamed the Bmibaby Stand in August 2002, and the South Stand. Both of these 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.

There are two main entrances, the south entrance, and the Gwyn Nicholls Memorial Gates (north entrance), named after   a former Welsh international.

Cardiff Arms Park is literally in the shadow of the Millennium Stadium, and finding the right entrance can be tricky for a novice as sign-posting is poor, and ,from personal experience, stewards less than helpful

I was seated in the South Stand, which you enter via a ramp at the side of the Gwyn Nicholls Gates as if you are entering the Millennium Stadium itself. In fact, you are, as the rear of the South Stand is part of the Millennium Stadium, and you can admire the pitch through the gates.

The South Stand of the Arms Park is physically attached to the North Stand of the Millennium Stadium. This is known as Glanmor's Gap, after Glanmor Griffiths, a former President of the W.R.U. The latter were unable to secure funding to include the North Stand in the Millennium Stadium , so it was built with the old reinforced concrete structure of the National Stadium (North Stand) and the new steel Millennium Stadium structure built around it.

In the 2013 of-season the pitch at  the Arms Park was replaced with an artificial FieldTurf surface.

Stadium Tours:  A popular destination is the Millennium Stadium. It offers regular tours on most days throughout the year, and is only a couple of minutes walk from Cardiff Central Station.

The tour lasts around 45 minutes, and is bookable on     02920 822 228 or online via the Millennium Stadium website.

Prices are £6.65 adults, £4.65 children and concessions.

www.millenniumstadium.com/tours

Tickets  ticket.office@cardiffblues.com

Tel: 029 20 30 20 30

www.eticketing.co.uk/cardiffblues

Cardiff Blues match day prices are dependent on the category of the game: A, B or C.

Prices (2013/14)

Adults: £12 - £22

Seniors £ 8 - £20

Juniors: £1 - £12

Students: £5/£10

Club Shop: Cardiff Arms Park Shop

029 20 30 20 17

Fax: 029 20 643 799

Other web Sites:

www.cardiffblues.com/fanzone/blues_supporters_club

Official Cardiff Blues Supporters Club

Updated October 2013

Copyright Miles & Miles Publishing 2013