Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, and the third largest stadium in Britain. It has a capacity of 74,500 seats.
The stadium was built to host the final at the 1999 Rugby World Cup, and replaced Wales’ previous national stadium, the Cardiff Arms Park, which by that time had gotten severely outdated and lacked the facilities to stage such final.
Construction of the stadium began in 1997 and was completed in 1999 at a total cost of £114 million. The first match played at the stadium was a rugby friendly between Wales and South Africa, with the first football match being a friendly between the Welsh and Finnish national teams in March 2000.
During the reconstruction of Wembley Stadium, the Millennium Stadium hosted the FA Cup and League Cup finals, as well as the FA Community Shield. In its first decade the stadium was the standard playing venue of the Welsh national team, however with declining attendances and smaller modern alternatives available in the Liberty Stadium and Cardiff City Stadium, the Welsh team played most of its Euro 2012 qualifying matches at one of the above stadiums.
The stadium has a fully retractable roof, which can be opened in 20 minutes and is being held by four 90-metre high masts.
Getting there
The Millennium Stadium lies in the centre of Cardiff, opposite Cardiff Central Rail station. Its location means there are plenty of entertainment options around.
The stadium lies at walking distance of practically all city centre locations.
Address: Millennium Stadium, Westgate Street, Cardiff, CF10 1NS
Stadium tours
The Millennium Stadium offers guided tours around the stadium that include the home dressing room, press conference suite, players tunnel, VIP suites, and President’s Box. The tours last between 60 and 75 minutes.
Tours run Mondays to Saturdays between 10:00 am and 5:00 pm, and on Sundays between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm. They leave at every full hour. On match and event days other opening times can apply.
Tours can be booked online, by phone +44 (0) 29 2082 2228, or email tours@millenniumstadium.com. The tour costs £7.50.
Relevant Internet links:
Millenniumstadium.com – Official website of the Millennium Stadium.
Visitcardiff.com – Official tourism website for Cardiff.
Nationalrail.co.uk – Check train times and fares.
Keep up to date with the latest stadium news by following @stadiumguide on Twitter (all updates) or liking our Facebook page (occasional updates). 
