1. Newport County AFC is a professional football club based in Newport, South Wales. The club was founded in 1912 and is nicknamed The Exiles.
2. The team has played most of its history in the lower divisions of English football, but has enjoyed recent success with promotion to League Two in the 2013/14 season. They also finished the 2020-21 season in 5th place and reached the play-off final.
3. Newport County AFC plays its home matches at Rodney Parade, which is a multi-purpose stadium that also hosts rugby and other events. The stadium has a capacity of 7,850 for football matches.
4. Newport County AFC has a rivalry with nearby club Cardiff City, although the two clubs have not played each other regularly in recent years due to being in different divisions.
5. Other rivals include Wrexham, Bristol Rovers, Cheltenham Town and Forest Green Rovers.
2. The team has played most of its history in the lower divisions of English football, but has enjoyed recent success with promotion to League Two in the 2013/14 season. They also finished the 2020-21 season in 5th place and reached the play-off final.
3. Newport County AFC plays its home matches at Rodney Parade, which is a multi-purpose stadium that also hosts rugby and other events. The stadium has a capacity of 7,850 for football matches.
4. Newport County AFC has a rivalry with nearby club Cardiff City, although the two clubs have not played each other regularly in recent years due to being in different divisions.
5. Other rivals include Wrexham, Bristol Rovers, Cheltenham Town and Forest Green Rovers.
Home of Newport County AFC
Opened 1877
Capacity 7,850
★★★★★
★★★★★
Not a bad ground for a league 2 football club. Enjoyed watching a game here end of last season doing a bit of groundhopping. Better than a handful of L2 grounds out there. Good food and bar in the away area. Couple of really nice stands. Was also really impressed with the quality of the pitch. Also very baffled by the choir in the home end!! Was also very impressed with the Thatchers Cider adverts in the ground being in South Wales and not Somerset!
11 months ago
History (from Wikipedia)
In 1875, the Newport Athletic Club was created, and two years later they secured the use of land at Rodney Parade from Godfrey Morgan, 1st Viscount Tredegar, for their cricket, tennis, rugby and athletics teams. In October 1879, Newport RFC played Cardiff RFC in a floodlit game at Rodney Parade. It was the first ground in Wales to have floodlights installed.
Newport rugby club enjoyed six highly successful seasons, being unbeaten during that time. The team sustained their first defeat in the 1870s, but were again unbeaten in seasons 1891-2 and 1922-3. Monmouthshire County Cricket Club played at Rodney Parade from 1901 to 1934. Newport RFC provided internationals for every one of the four home countries at Rodney Parade, as well as South Africa. Newport were once scheduled for a regular fixture, against Bristol – a team drawn from Welsh, English, Irish and Scottish internationals. The powerful All Blacks of 1924, and the strong Springboks of 1960, were considered fortunate to evade defeat at Rodney Parade.
The cricket ground, which was on the south side of the stadium, no longer exists, because the new Maindee primary school was built on the site in 1993. Newport Cricket Club relocated to the Newport International Sports Village.
Following the introduction of regional rugby union teams in Wales, the Newport Gwent Dragons regional team was formed on 1 April 2003 and shared Rodney Parade with Newport RFC from then onwards.
On 4 September 2007, it was announced that the Rodney Parade site was due to be redeveloped into a 15,000-capacity stadium by the beginning of the 2010–11 rugby union season. The redevelopment was backed by Newport City Council, Newport Unlimited, Newport RFC and Newport Gwent Dragons. The application received planning consent on 11 March 2009. The plan included construction of covered stands at the north and south ends and the provision of cover on the stretch of the west touchline terrace. In August 2010, it was announced that the target finish date for the first phase had been put back to the beginning of the 2011–12 rugby union season with the full redevelopment planned to take several years.[5] The new east stand was opened in October 2011, and named the Bisley Stand for sponsorship purposes.
In May 2012, it was agreed that Newport County football club would move from Newport Stadium and play its home fixtures at Rodney Parade as part of an initial three-year deal, meaning that the stadium would host association football matches on a regular basis for the first time. In February 2013, Newport County agreed a further 10-year lease to play at Rodney Parade.[6]
In April 2013, Newport Athletic Bowls Club relocated from Rodney Parade to Caerleon.[7]
In the summers of 2013 and 2014, new drainage and irrigation systems were installed under the grass playing surface.[8] Despite that, serious drainage problems occurred at the end of 2016. Newport County's matches against Barnet on 3 September and Morecambe on 10 December were abandoned at half-time because the pitch was waterlogged and the English Football League stepped in to help identify the problem.[9]
In March 2017, sale of the ground to the Welsh Rugby Union was agreed following a vote of Newport RFC shareholders.[10] The takeover was completed on 27 June 2017 and work started to install a hybrid grass pitch for the 2017–18 rugby and football season.[11]
Newport rugby club enjoyed six highly successful seasons, being unbeaten during that time. The team sustained their first defeat in the 1870s, but were again unbeaten in seasons 1891-2 and 1922-3. Monmouthshire County Cricket Club played at Rodney Parade from 1901 to 1934. Newport RFC provided internationals for every one of the four home countries at Rodney Parade, as well as South Africa. Newport were once scheduled for a regular fixture, against Bristol – a team drawn from Welsh, English, Irish and Scottish internationals. The powerful All Blacks of 1924, and the strong Springboks of 1960, were considered fortunate to evade defeat at Rodney Parade.
The cricket ground, which was on the south side of the stadium, no longer exists, because the new Maindee primary school was built on the site in 1993. Newport Cricket Club relocated to the Newport International Sports Village.
Following the introduction of regional rugby union teams in Wales, the Newport Gwent Dragons regional team was formed on 1 April 2003 and shared Rodney Parade with Newport RFC from then onwards.
On 4 September 2007, it was announced that the Rodney Parade site was due to be redeveloped into a 15,000-capacity stadium by the beginning of the 2010–11 rugby union season. The redevelopment was backed by Newport City Council, Newport Unlimited, Newport RFC and Newport Gwent Dragons. The application received planning consent on 11 March 2009. The plan included construction of covered stands at the north and south ends and the provision of cover on the stretch of the west touchline terrace. In August 2010, it was announced that the target finish date for the first phase had been put back to the beginning of the 2011–12 rugby union season with the full redevelopment planned to take several years.[5] The new east stand was opened in October 2011, and named the Bisley Stand for sponsorship purposes.
In May 2012, it was agreed that Newport County football club would move from Newport Stadium and play its home fixtures at Rodney Parade as part of an initial three-year deal, meaning that the stadium would host association football matches on a regular basis for the first time. In February 2013, Newport County agreed a further 10-year lease to play at Rodney Parade.[6]
In April 2013, Newport Athletic Bowls Club relocated from Rodney Parade to Caerleon.[7]
In the summers of 2013 and 2014, new drainage and irrigation systems were installed under the grass playing surface.[8] Despite that, serious drainage problems occurred at the end of 2016. Newport County's matches against Barnet on 3 September and Morecambe on 10 December were abandoned at half-time because the pitch was waterlogged and the English Football League stepped in to help identify the problem.[9]
In March 2017, sale of the ground to the Welsh Rugby Union was agreed following a vote of Newport RFC shareholders.[10] The takeover was completed on 27 June 2017 and work started to install a hybrid grass pitch for the 2017–18 rugby and football season.[11]
Things to do in Newport.
Ye Olde Murenger House.
Ye Olde Murenger House is pretty much the epitome of an "old man's pub". Came here for a group of friends for a mid-afternoon drink and although a place... Read More
The Murenger is an excellent pub. Its not a fancy bar in any way shape or form but a proper old pub. They serve real ales and bitters but carry a selection... Read More
The Pen & Wig.