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Stadium Info FANFARE Score: 3.29
Cardiff City Stadium Leckwith Rd. Cardiff, Wales CF11 8AZ
Year Opened: 2009
Capacity: 26,828
You Won’t be Blue in Cardiff City
The Cardiff City Stadium was built in 2009 on the site of what was previously the Leckwith Athletics Stadium. This venue had also hosted UEFA Cup soccer having once been the home of Inter Cardiff. To compensate for the loss of the Leckwith Stadium, a similar venue was built across the road from the new development that in addition to athletics also serves as the home of Cardiff City's Academy team and Welsh Junior side Cardiff Grange Harlequins.
Cardiff City's former stadium, Ninian Park, was adjacent to the new stadium and has now been demolished to make way for new housing development. The stadium is shared with Cardiff's Rugby Union club Cardiff Blues and the city's most famous venue the Millennium Stadium is also within a ten-minute walk report on this and the Sophia Gardens Cricket Stadium will follow in the future.
Food & Beverage 3
Outside the stadium and before kickoff fans can enjoy burgers and hot dogs from #BurgerBar and a pint from the Tap and Hammer.
Inside fans can enjoy a few interesting varieties of hot dogs that include the New York Dog (grated cheese, onions, and a choice of sauce), the Dallas Dog (chili, fried onions, and grated cheese), the Boston Dog (bacon and fried onions), and the American Dog (fried onions and a choice of sauce). Each hot dog sells for between £4.5 to £6. Other options inside the stadium include tea & coffee (£1.60), Coke products(£2), beer (£3.50), and pies (£3.10).
The Grazing Shed is home to their "super tidy burgers" and is located at USW Stand and the Ninian Stand in Kiosk 111. The burgers are made from locally sourced Welsh ingredients on homemade buns baked fresh daily. The Bunga Bunga features blue cheese fondue, smoked bacon, cajun mayo, red onion confit, ketchup, and lettuce. The El Toro is topped with honey-glazed goat’s cheese, chorizo, mayo, hot chili, and lettuce.
Atmosphere 3
In terms of facilities, the new stadium cannot be faulted, and when full one would imagine the atmosphere to be intimidating. This particularly would be the case when Cardiff hosts their arch enemies Swansea city. However, as with most new British Stadiums, the atmosphere never lives up to that of a club's previous home, which is mainly due to the lack of old-fashioned British terraces.
The Bluebirds stadium is comprised of the following four sections: The Canton Stand (North), The Ninian Stand (East), The Grange Stand (South), and The Grandstand (West). Away supporters are tucked in the corner of the stadium between the Grange and Ninian stand. Inside The overall experience is common to what one would expect at a modern stadium. The seating is comfortable the views are great on the pitch, and the facilities are spacious and easy to get around.
The stadium is spacious and offers pre-game entertainment and live music, and fans' supporters will cheer before the match and throughout the 90-plus minutes of football. There are two video screens on opposite ends of the pitch and various signs to visit Asian countries of the Philippines, Vietnam, and Singapore are evident on the upper level of the building.
Neighborhood 4
The Capital City of Wales offers everything that a Soccer, Rugby, or Cricket supporter could wish for. Excellent sporting facilities, excellent Bars and Restaurants, excellent shopping, River Walks, and a Castle are all within twenty minutes walk of each other.
The city also offers plenty of choices of both budget and executive hotels. Outside of the city, the valleys and coastline of Wales are well worth exploring, making a sporting visit to the city ideal for combining into a vacation. The neighborhood surrounding the stadium is a mixture of old and new development with the Retail Park being ideal for whiling away an hour before kick-off.
However, most visitors tend to head for the City Centre or Cardiff Bay. Cardiff Bay is the regenerated area of the Docks previously named Tiger Bay, the area of Cardiff where a young Shirley Bassey was raised and one which gains a mention in the Ian Dury song "Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick" This area of the city has museums, small shops, and bars and is popular amongst locals and visitors.
The new shopping retail park development next to the stadium offers plenty of variety for food and drink. Greggs Bakery, Subway, Mcdonald's, KFC, and Costa Coffee offer plenty in the fast food range. If you are looking for pub food then Toby Carvery provides the traditional British Sunday roast for £3.99. Cardiff City Centre a mere fifteen minutes' walk away is well populated with Bars and Restaurants offering food to serve all nationalities.
Fans 3
During the 70s and 80s, Cardiff City had a reputation for having some of the most notorious hooligans in the British game. Although a small element of this remains, the club has been successful in re-branding its trouble-free image over the past ten years. A game day now normally goes off trouble-free with only the local derby game against Swansea City having the potential for crowd trouble. These fixtures are normally moved to a Sunday Noon kick-off with heavy travel restrictions in place.
Access 3
The stadium is easily reached by a kick-off car exiting Junction 33 of the M4 motorway which runs between Swansea and London. Take the A4232 towards Cardiff and exit for the B4267 and the stadium is immediately on the side.
Parking is available at the stadium for £5 or in any of the City Centre car parks and nearby side streets. Please be aware that parking in the Retail Park is limited to ninety minutes and heavy clamping fees apply if you exceed this.
Cardiff Central Railway Station is approximately twenty minutes walk although local branch lines from this station will take you to Ninian Park Halt which is a mere five-minute walk.
Return on Investment 3
Unless Cardiff is playing Swansea then tickets can be easily purchased over the internet using the club's website or on the day of the game from the stadium ticket office located by the main entrance to the stadium.
Tickets will be more difficult to purchase if the club is promoted to the Premier League.
Tickets are priced as low as £9 up to £30 and are £2 cheaper if purchased in advance. In today's climate, this is good value for your money but again I suspect there would be a big price hike if the club gains promotion.
Extras 4
There is a large superstore situated by the main entrance to the stadium selling a wide range of both Cardiff City and Cardiff Blues souvenirs. As normal with most British Football Clubs, a match day program is available which provides plenty of pre-match reading and is a good value for £3. Cardiff is one of the few Championship and Premier League clubs that let smokers depart the stadium at halftime into a controlled area for their fix.
Final Thoughts
Cardiff City Stadium comes alive on match day with local pubs and restaurants near the grounds packed with fans. Once inside the stadium, the crowd becomes electric against bigger opponents but halftime takes for a fine day of footy on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon.