Home of Cardiff City FC
Opened 2009
Capacity 33,280
History (from Wikipedia)
First mooted as a long term target by former owner Sam Hammam, the new stadium first gained public approval after a meeting between Hammam and then Cardiff Lord Mayor Russell Goodway in January 2002, giving the club 12 months to agree a planning and business plan.[10] In November 2002 the club and Cardiff Council signed an outline agreement for the development, subject to later agreement for outline planning permission.[11]
In March 2003, stories began to emerge that the Chief Executive of the Millennium Stadium wanted Cardiff City to use their stadium instead, and saw no viable plan for two 50,000+ seat capacity stadia in the Welsh capital.[12] This was increased in light of Cardiff City's promotion to the Championship in May 2003 with local fears over traffic and access problems.[13]
However, on 20 August 2003 Cardiff councillors gave unanimous approval to the stadium plans, although expressed concerns over the need and scale of the retail development but understood its need to fund the stadium.[14] On 9 September 2003 the Welsh Assembly gave approval to the plan.[15]
In April 2004, Cardiff Council gave the first phase covering the stadium with a capacity of 30,000 seats and new athletics track approval.[16] The next phase was held up by various legal and technical delays from November 2004[17] to January 2005, when the council gave approval to three detailed plans for the retail development, subject to agreement of suitable underlying business plans.[18]
Although development could have then started in May 2005, the underlying need for seed financing revealed the financial status of Cardiff City football club as poor, with over £30 million of debt and the need to sell star player and club captain Graham Kavanagh to Wigan Athletic F.C. in March 2005. It was also revealed that players and staff had not been paid for a month as the club struggled to honour a wage bill believed to be £750,000 a month, while auditors were looking at possible cutbacks.[19] On 1 March 2005 the club delayed the development until at least July 2005.[20]
After a 1–0 home loss to Sheffield United and a mobbing by fans, on 6 March 2005 Hammam apologised to fans, and released club accounts which showed club debt at March 2004 at £29.6 million.[20]
After a summer sale of players, the entry of former Leeds United chairman Peter Ridsdale and numerous rumours, the development was given a period of 90 days from 31 December 2005 by Cardiff Council to finalise the underlying business plan.[21] On 31 January 2006 the developers secured Asda as the lead retailer of the new development, which enabled the final funding of the stadium to start.[22] This allowed the council timetable to extend by four months to September 2006.[23]
On 24 October 2006 Laing O'Rouke won the contract to develop the 30,000 seat stadium, which Ridsdale stated would be ready for December 2008.[24] On 27 November 2006 Cardiff Council approved the business plan for the stadium, and granted a 125-year lease for the land on which the stadium was to sit upon, allowing the final planning approval to be gained from the council authority and the office of the Deputy Prime Minister.[25]
In March 2007, the stadium plans were altered to allow construction to begin as soon as possible. To minimise construction costs, the 30,000 capacity was reduced to 25,000 by removing three-quarters of the second tier of seating, however the plans allow the option of completing the second tier to reach the 30,000 capacity if required.[26] The former chairman of Cardiff City, Steve Borley, said in March 2008 that "We are working to raise the capacity and right now it stands at 26,830. The task is to raise that even further, and we believe it could be almost 28,000 when the stadium opens."[27]
When work finally commenced Peter Ridsdale stated that he expected the stadium to be ready by Christmas 2008 but it was finally completed in May 2009. Although some believe this slight delay was caused by Cardiff City's ongoing legal action with Langston, it was actually caused by unexpectedly poor weather during the summer of 2007.[28]
Stadium construction[edit]
Construction of the Cardiff City Stadium
Land clearance started on 21 February 2007,[29] while on 9 May, final finances were put in place for Laing O'Rourke to bring equipment on site and start construction.[30]
Developers and contractors
The lead developer was PMG Developments, a Cardiff-based property developer led by Cardiff City director Paul Guy and former Wales rugby captain Mike Hall. Laing O'Rourke were contracted to build all the highway improvements necessary to cope with the increased capacity, as well as the demolition of the Cardiff Athletics Stadium and the construction of the retail park. Cowlin was picked as the preferred contractor for the new athletic stadium. Required analysis of soil and water for the site was performed by TES Bretby, part of the Environmental Services Group Ltd.[citation needed]
Schedule
Leckwith Road was widened to a dual carriageway over 18 months, with the scheme allowing for an extra access lane to become available on matchdays.[citation needed]
The plan required the demolition of the previous Cardiff Athletics Stadium, of which the council insisted the replacement is built before the start of construction on the new football stadium. This was to avoid the city being without a major athletics facility for any length of time.[citation needed]
Work was scheduled to begin on the new athletics stadium in January 2007 with the track and throwing areas expected to be open for use by the end of July 2007. The new athletics stadium was expected to be completed by October 2007 and it was hoped that Cardiff City F.C.'s stadium would be able to open in December 2008, however the stadium finally completed in May 2009.[28]
Detailed timetable
- 27 November 2006: Stadium business plan approved by Cardiff Council[25]
- November 2006: Three-month period began for possible legal challenge to deal. The council also had to receive approval from the National Assembly for disposal of the Leckwith land at less than market value
- Early 2007: Work started
- Early Spring 2007: Building of the retail park begin along with the major highways works around Leckwith Road
- Summer 2007: New athletics track finished around the middle of the summer
- October 2007: Commence main contract works
- Christmas 2007: Complete demolition works
- January 2007: Commence piling
- March 2007: Commence steelwork
- Summer 2008: Commence cladding
- Autumn 2008: Complete structure
- October 2008: West stand weathertight
- Christmas 2008: Fit-out access
- January 2009: Power on
- May 2009: Stadium completed[31]
Things to do in Cardiff.