The ( of
Wales , located in the capital
Cardiff , and is used primarily for
Rugby Union and
Football home internationals. At the time of its construction it was the largest stadium in the
United Kingdom with a capacity of 74,500, but has since been overtaken by
Old Trafford ,
Twickenham Stadium and the new
Wembley Stadium . The Millennium Stadium is owned by Millennium Stadium plc which is a
Subsidiary Company owned by the
Welsh Rugby Union (WRU).
The stadium was built by
John Laing plc in 1999 on the site of the old National Stadium, in
Cardiff Arms Park . It was built for the
1999 Rugby World Cup , for which Wales was the main host. It was home to seven of the 41 matches, including the final.
The construction cost the WRU £126 million, which was considered remarkably low for a state-of-the-art stadium. This was funded by private investment, £46 million of public funds from the
National Lottery , the sale of
Debenture s to supporters (which offered guaranteed tickets in exchange for an interest-free loan), and
Loan s. The development left the WRU heavily in
Debt .
playing French team
Biarritz in the
2006 Heineken Cup final.]]
The all-seater stadium has the capacity for 74,500 supporters and features a retractable roof (only the second stadium in
Europe , and the second biggest in the world, with this feature) to protect the playing surface from the elements. The
Superstructure of the stadium is based around four 90.3
Metre masts.
Additional seating is sometimes added for special events such as a rugby Test against the
All Blacks , or formerly for the
FA Cup final. The pitch itself is laid on top of some 7,400 pallets which can be moved so the stadium can be used for concerts, exhibitions and other events.
In each of the stadium's bars, so-called "joy machines" can pour 12 pints in less than 20 seconds. During a Wales-France match, 63,000 fans drank 77,184 pints of
Beer , almost double the 44,000 pints drunk by a similar number of fans at a game at
Twickenham .
The stadium was slightly restricted in size due to its proximity to
Cardiff Rugby Club 's home, in the smaller stadium elsewhere within
Cardiff Arms Park . Efforts were made by the WRU to persuade Cardiff rugby club to move to a new stadium, but these were unsuccessful (the WRU and Cardiff rugby were in dispute); the stadium had to be completed with a break in its bowl structure, known colloquially as "Glanmor's Gap", after
Glanmor Griffiths , then chairman of the WRU. The stadium management resultantly accept the stadium structure is not finished.
playing
Bath Rugby during a
Powergen Cup match.]]
As well as international rugby union, the Millennium Stadium has hosted a variety of sports, including
Association Football ,
Rugby League (Including the
Challenge Cup final on 3 occasions between 2003 and 2005, and
Welsh Rugby League Internationals )
Speedway ,
Indoor Cricket and
Boxing
The stadium is the home of the
Welsh Rugby Union Team , who play all of their home fixtures at the venue. These games include those during the
Six Nations , as well as the November Tests against nations from the Southern Hemisphere. Apart from the national team the stadium has been used for
Celtic League games, as well as
Heineken Cup matches. The
Cardiff Blues sometimes play larger home fixtures at the ground.
The stadium has hosted the semi-finals of the Anglo-Welsh Cup in
2006 and
2007 , as well as the
2005-06 Heineken Cup final where
Munster defeated
Biarritz .
In 2007, the stadium hosted the
Rugby League Millennium Magic weekend, which saw an entire regular season round of
Super League matches taken to Cardiff over the weekend of May 5th-6th; this is poised to become an annual event. The stadium will also stage some matches of the
2007 Rugby World Cup .
The
2007-08 Heineken Cup will return to the stadium in 2008.
-
Bolton Wanderers .]]
Since 2000, the stadium has also been the almost-permanent home of Welsh football. The
National team play the vast majority of home matches at the Millennium Stadium, with a handful once or twice a year in
Wrexham . The first Welsh football game in the stadium in 2000 was against Finland, and drew a then record home crowd for Welsh football of over 66,000. This has since been beaten on several occasions.
Eight matches of the
2012 Olympic football competition are planned for the arena.
vs.
Watford )]]
Whilst the Millennium stadium was under construction, the old
1924 Wembley Stadium had hosted the Welsh rugby team during the building of the new ground. The favour was returned from 2001 whilst England's national stadium,
Wembley Stadium was undergoing rebuilding, with the Millennium hosting:
The stadium became notorious for an apparent "away team hoodoo". The first seven finals were all won by the teams occupying the home dressing room with their fans in the North Stand. Stoke City beat Brentford 2-0 to end the "hoodoo."
Liverpool were the first team to win the
FA Cup at the Millennium Stadium in
2001 after beating
Arsenal 2-1. Fittingly they also won the last
FA Cup to be held at the Millennium Stadium in
2006 , after beating
West Ham United 3-1 In A Penalty Shootout That Followed A 3-3 Draw after
Extra Time in a final that was billed as 'the best cup final of the modern era.'
The last domestic cup match played was when
Doncaster Rovers beat
Bristol Rovers 3-2 AET in the
Johnstone's Paint Trophy Final on April 1, 2007.
In 2001 it staged its first ever motorsport event, hosting the British round of the Speedway Grand Prix Series, and has done every year since, in 2007 attracting over 41,000, a record for British Speedway. In September 2005 the stadium was host to the first ever indoor stage of the
World Rally Championship during the
Wales Rally Great Britain . The lower tier of the stadium was removed to create a figure-of-eight course. In addition to this, the stadium has hosted stages for the British Rally and motocross events.
The stadium has also on occasion been used as a venue for shooting
Film and
Television productions. "
Dalek ", an episode of the 2005 season of the
BBC Science Fiction Television series ''
Doctor Who '', was shot primarily on location at the stadium, using its underground areas to stand in for an underground base in
Utah ,
United States in the year 2012. The location shooting for the episode took place during October and November 2004. The underground areas of the stadium were used again in ''Doctor Who'' for the 2005 Christmas special, "
The Christmas Invasion ". The area was used as the headquarters for UNIT, based under the
Tower Of London . The episode was broadcast on
Christmas Day 2005. The Hindi film ''
Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham '' was also filmed there.
In a break from convention for this fight, seating will not be limited to half the venue. Instead, the whole stadium will be used to seat spectators.
The stadium has also been used for a variety of musical events, the most famous being the
Manic Street Preachers concert held on
Millennium Eve, and, on the following day, a recording of the
BBC 's
Songs Of Praise , which attracted an attendance of 65,000. At the end of January 2005, the stadium hosted a
Charity Concert in aid of the victims of the
2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and
Tsunami . The stadium has also hosted Madonna, Robbie Williams, U2, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Rolling Stones, and Bon Jovi.
