Cardiff Arms Park

Cardiff Arms Hotel

The inauguration of the Grandstand on 26 December 1885

The Cardiff Arms Park site was originally called the Great Park,[7] a swampy meadow behind the Cardiff Arms Hotel. The hotel was built by Sir Thomas Morgan, during the reign of Charles I.[8] Cardiff Arms Park was named after this hotel.[9] From 1803, the Cardiff Arms Hotel and the Park had become the property of the Bute family.[3][10] 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.[3] However, by 1878, Cardiff Arms Hotel had been demolished.[9]

The 3rd Marquess of Bute stipulated that the ground could only be used for "recreational purposes".[10] 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 £50.[4] The architect was Archibald Leitch, famous for designing Ibrox Stadium and Old Trafford, among others.[11] In 1890, new standing areas were constructed along the entire length of the ground, with additional stands erected in 1896.[12]

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.[4] The south stand was covered, while the north terrace was initially without a roof.[4] The improvements were partly funded by the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU).[12] 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.[4] This new development increased the ground capacity to 43,000 and much improved facilities at the ground compared to the earlier stands.[4][12]

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 £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.[6][13]

The 1934 new North Stand, rugby ground, Cardiff Arms Park

During 1934 the cricket pavilion had been demolished to make way for the new North Stand[3] which was built on the rugby union ground, costing around £20,000.[14] However, in 1941 the new North Stand and part of the west terracing was badly damaged in the Blitz by the Luftwaffe during the Second World War.[15]

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".[13] At the same time, plans were made for a new South Stand which was estimated to cost £60,000; the tender price, however, came out at £90,000, so 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.[13] The new South Stand opened in 1956, in time for the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games.[15] This brought the overall capacity of the Arms Park up to 60,000 spectators, of which 12,800 were seated and the remainder standing.[12][15]

Cardiff Athletic Club

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.[13] 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.[16] 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.[13] They also could not agree a solution with the Cardiff Athletic Club, so they purchased about 80 acres (320,000 m²) of land at Island Farm in Bridgend,[13] which was previously used as a prisoner-of-war camp. It is best known for being the camp where the biggest escape attempt was made by German prisoners of war in Great Britain during the Second World War.[17] 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.[13] 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.[16]

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 Porthcawl and Andrew Scott & Company of Port Talbot.[18][19]

After agreement from the Cardiff Athletic Club, the freehold of the south ground was transferred solely to the WRU in July 1968.[13] 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.[13]

National Stadium

The National Stadium (left) and Cardiff RFC rugby ground (right) both on an east-west alignment

Demolition of the National Stadium with only the 1970 North Stand remaining, which would form part of the Millennium Stadium

On 17 October 1970, the new North Stand and the Cardiff RFC ground was completed, the North Stand cost just over £1 million.[13] 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 £4.5 million. At the start of the project, the total cost was estimated at £2.25 million, although by time it was finished in 1984, it had risen by nearly four times that amount.[13]

Both stadia had approximately east–west alignment: the rugby ground to the north (Castle Street) end; 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.[20]

A world record crowd of 56,000 for a rugby union club match watched Llanelli RFC beat Neath RFC by 28 to 13 points in the final of the Schweppes Cup (WRU Challenge Cup) on 7 May 1988.[16] The first evening game to be played under floodlights was held on 4 September 1991 at 8.00 pm, between Wales and France.[21] 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 to 26 points.[22]

The Millennium Stadium (south ground - right) and Cardiff Arms Park (north ground - left)

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.[23] 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.[15] 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"[24] Since 2016 it has been known as the Principality Stadium.

An agreement in principle was reached in December 2015 between the landlord of the stadium site (Cardiff Athletic Club) and its tenant (Cardiff Blues) to give the club a 150-year lease on the stadium site.[25] This could see the redevelopment of the Arms Park, including a new 15,000 seater stadium at 90 degrees to the existing stadium costing between £20 million and £30 million and surrounded by new offices and apartments.[25]

More detailed negotiations will begin with a final approval expected early in 2016.[25] If the final agreement goes ahead, Cardiff Athletic Club would receive an upfront payment of approximately £8 million.[25] As part of the agreement, the bowls section would have to vacate its current site at the Arms Park and move to a new facility.[25] At present Cardiff Blues pay Cardiff Athletic Club rent of around £115,000 per annum, however this would nearly double to around £200,000.[25]

The Riverside Football Club, founded in 1899, played some matches at the Arms Park until 1910, when they moved to Ninian Park,[14] 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.[37]

The adjoining Cardiff Rugby Club ground has also been used for Association Football. In July 1995, Ton Pentre played two Intertoto Cup games there, against Heerenveen (Netherlands) and Uniao Leiria (Portugal) as their own ground was not suitable. The Heerenveen game - the first ever soccer match to be played there - kicked off at 6pm on Saturday 1 July 1995 and resulted in the Dutch side winning 7–0. The Wales U-21 team have also played a home game there in the late 1990s.

In 1958, the British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Cardiff. The event was (to date) 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.[13] Both the opening and closing ceremonies took place at Cardiff Arms Park, plus all the track and field events, on what had been the greyhound track.[13] 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.

Baseball 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.[38][39] The games are now usually held at Roath Park.

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.[40] Boxing contests were held later on 14 June 1943, 12 August 1944, 4 October 1951 and 10 September 1952.[41]

Around 25,000 spectators watched international boxing 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.[42] Lewis beat Bruno by a technical knockout in the 7th round, in what was called the "Battle of Britain".[43][44] On 30 September 1995, Steve Robinson the World Boxing Organization (WBO) World Featherweight Champion, lost against Prince Naseem Hamed at the rugby ground in 8 rounds.[44]

In 1819 Cardiff Cricket Club was formed and by 1848 they had moved to their new home at the Arms Park.[45] Glamorgan County Cricket Club, at the time not a first-class county, played their first match at the ground in June 1869 against Monmouthshire Cricket Club.[46] The county club played their first County Championship match on the ground in 1921,[47] competing there every season (except while first-class cricket was suspended during the Second World War) until their final match on the ground against Somerset in August 1966.

Cardiff Cricket Club played their final game at the ground against Lydney Cricket Club on 17 September 1966. Both Cardiff Cricket Club and Glamorgan then moved to a new ground at Sophia Gardens on the opposite bank of the River Taff to the Arms Park following work on the creation of the national rugby stadium.[48]

The first first-class cricket match 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 matches were played on the ground, all but two involving Glamorgan as the home team.[49] Only one List A cricket match was played on the ground, Glamorgan's Gillette Cup fixture against Somerset on 22 May 1963.[50]

Greyhound racing took place at the Arms Park for fifty years from 1927 until 1977.[51]

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 two tries and a drop goal to nil.[13]

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 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 33–26.[52]

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 New Zealand in what is also called "the greatest match ever played" on 27 January 1973.[54] The final result was a win for the Barbarians. The score, 23–11, which translates to 27–13 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 third-place play-off.[55] The National Stadium was also host to the inaugural Heineken Cup final of 1995–96 when Toulouse beat Cardiff RFC by 21–18 after extra time, in front of 21,800 spectators.[56] The following final in 1996–97 was also held at the National Stadium, this time it was between Brive and Leicester Tigers. Brive won the match 28–9, in front of a crowd of 41,664.[57]

In 2008, the 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.[58]

Cardiff Blues versus Edinburgh, 17 May 2009

Until February 2012, it had been assumed that the last professional rugby union game to take place at the Arms Park was on 17 May 2009, when Edinburgh beat the Cardiff Blues 36–14 in a Celtic League match during the 2008–09 season.[59]

However, on Tuesday, 7 February 2012, it was confirmed that Cardiff Blues would face Connacht at the Arms Park on Friday, 10 February 2012. The Pro12 League game result was a win for the Cardiff Blues 22–15 and attendance of 8,000. The following Tuesday, it was announced that the match against Ulster on Friday, 17 February, would also be at the Arms Park, resulting in a Blues win, 21–14 and attendance of 8,600. The agreement signed during 2009 tied Cardiff Blues to a 20-year contract to play a maximum of 18 games per season for a set fee, rather than per match at Cardiff City Stadium. But on 23 February, it was announced that the two Welsh 'derbies' against the Scarlets and the Ospreys would be played at Cardiff City Stadium, rather than the Arms Park, because of Cardiff Blues' anticipation that the attendance figures would far exceed the maximum capacity of 9,000. On 8 May 2012, it was announced that Cardiff Blues would be returning to the Arms Park on a permanent basis after just three years at the Cardiff City Stadium.[60]

On 23 May 2014, the rugby ground hosted the final of the 2013–14 Amlin Challenge Cup in which Northampton Saints beat Bath 30–16.[61]

Rugby World Cup

Cardiff Arms Park hosted matches of the 1991 Rugby World Cup.

Date	Competition	Home team		Away team		Attendance
6 October 1991	1991 Rugby World Cup Pool 3	Wales	13	Western Samoa	16	45,000
9 October 1991	1991 Rugby World Cup Pool 3	Wales	16	Argentina	7	35,000
12 October 1991	1991 Rugby World Cup Pool 3	Wales	3	Australia	38	54,000
30 October 1991	1991 Rugby World Cup Third-place play-off	New Zealand	13	Scotland	6	47,000

South Wales Scorpions played a Rugby League Championship 1 match against London Skolars at Cardiff Arms Park on Sunday, 27 July 2014 and on Sunday 10 May 2015 at Cardiff Arms Park, South Wales Scorpions took on North Wales Crusaders. The 2015 European Cup match between France and Wales was held at Cardiff Arms Park on Friday, 30 October 2015 at 18:30 GMT.

The highest attendance for a rugby league game at the Arms Park was recorded on 8 June 1996 during the first Super League season when 6,708 saw St. Helens defeat the Sheffield Eagles 43–32. The St Helens team at the time contained Welsh players Anthony Sullivan, Karle Hammond and Keiron Cunningham.[62]

Rugby league test matches

List of rugby league test matches played at Cardiff Arms Park.[63]

Test#	Date	Result	Attendance	Notes
1	26 June 1996	England def.  Wales 26–12	5,425	1996 European Rugby League Championship
2	30 October 2015	Wales def.  France 14–6	1,028	2015 European Cup

Tennis courts were laid out in the Arms Park for Cardiff Tennis Club until the club moved to Sophia Gardens in 1967. In 2003, the club amalgamated with Lisvane Tennis Club to form Lisvane (CAC) Tennis Club, which is still a section of Cardiff Athletic Club (CAC).[64]