Millennium Stadium

The Millennium Stadium (Welsh: Stadiwm y Mileniwm) in Cardiff is the national stadium of Wales, used primarily for rugby union and football. It is currently the largest football ground in the United Kingdom with a capacity of 74,500, but will relinquish this distinction when the rebuilding of Wembley Stadium in London is complete. The stadium is owned by the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU).

Features

The all-seater stadium has the capacity for 74,500 supporters and features a retractable roof (only the second stadium in Europe, and the biggest in the world, with this feature) to protect the playing surface from the elements.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:They say it has a sliding roof that they can slide all day

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:we'll slide it back when Wales attack so God can watch us play

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

::Max Boyce

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The stadium was slightly restricted in size due to its proximity to Cardiff Rugby Club's (and now Cardiff Blues') home, Cardiff Arms Park. Efforts were made by the WRU to persuade the rugby club to move to a new stadium, but these were unsuccessful; the stadium had to be completed with a break in its bowl structure (now known colloquially as "Glanmor's Gap", after Glanmor Griffiths, then chairman of the WRU). If an agreement can be reached in the future, it is likely that the stadium will be expanded.

Related Topics:
Cardiff Rugby Club - Cardiff Blues - Cardiff Arms Park - Glanmor Griffiths - WRU

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In each of the stadium's bars, so-called "joy machines" can pour 12 pints in less than 20 seconds. (As an illustration of their efficiency, in 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.)

Related Topics:
Beer - Twickenham

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The superstructure of the stadium is based around four 93 m masts, making it the tallest building in Wales.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~