| Ninian Park
Ninian Park is a football stadium in Cardiff, Wales. Currently, it is the home ground of Cardiff City FC, a Welsh club that competes in the English Football League Championship.
Overview
As you walk out onto the pitch from the dressing rooms, the stand furthest on your left is the Spar Family Stand (formerly known as the Canton End), the stand at the other end of the pitch is the John Smith's Grange End (formerly known as the Grange End prior to being sponsored by John Smith's Brewery), the stand in front of you is the Popular Bank (commonly known as the "Bob Bank"), and the stand behind you is the Grandstand. The ground features large Floodlights in each corner and a plasma screen television showing highlights during the game. The television is located between the Popular Bank and the Grange End.
The Grandstand
The Grandstand is a two-tier, all-seater stand, with old-fashioned wooden seats in the upper tier, and modern plastic seating in the lower tier. This stand also has several supporting poles holding up the roof. This stand also houses the area in which the player dressing rooms and tunnel are incorporated, as well as housing the dugouts. The archive bar is popular amongst fans for the consumption of alcohol during half time and before matches.
Spar Family Stand
The Spar Family Stand is a fully covered, all-seated stand with several supporting poles along the width of the stand. The club ticket office is also located within this stand; an exterior entrance is provided.
The Popular "Bob" Bank Seating & Terrace
The Popular Bank has a mixture of covered seating to the rear of the stand, and uncovered standing terrace to the front. If Cardiff City FC loses its licence to have standing areas in the ground, the terrace will either be closed or will have seats installed. The seating has many supportive poles keeping the roof up, and in keeping with the tradition of many football teams, many seats are coloured white and when viewed from above spell the word 'Cardiff.'
John Smiths Grange End
The John Smiths Grange End is a fully covered terrace, which was uncovered for many years, before its renovation after Sam Hammam took over as chairman. As with the Popular Bank and the terrace, if an application for standing in the ground is turned down, this area will either be closed or will have seats installed. It also has several supporting poles, and one section houses the away fans. The away section has terrace to the back and seating at the front.
The stadium and surrounding area are served by Ninian Park railway station on the Cardiff City Line.
History
Built on land that had formerly been the site of a rubbish tip, Ninian Park is named after Lt.-Col. Lord Ninian Edward Crichton-Stuart (15 May 1883�2 October 1915), son of John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute (12 September 1847�9 October 1900).
Stats
Capacity: 22,000
There is an advert on the roof of the Spar Family Stand for Redrow Homes, former shirt sponsor of the club (2003-2006). There is also an advert on the roof of the Bob Bank for Brace's Bread, a local bread-making firm. This was previously a mechanical scoreboard similar to that found in cricket or baseball.
Record Attendance: 61,556; Wales-England, 14 October 1961
The record attendance for a Cardiff City match is 57,893 v Arsenal, April 22nd 1953.
The 2005-2006 season's average attendance at the ground, over 23 home Cardiff City matches, was 11,720.
Address: Sloper Road, Cardiff CF11 8SX
Future
Work will be started on Cardiff City's new stadium in February 2007, it is believed to hold 30,000 when completed, which could be increased to 60,000 if needs be. No name has yet been agreed upon, although St David's Stadium appears to be favored amongst the Bluebirds fans. |
Admission Charges
Address
Buses
B&B's/Guesthouses
Campsites/Carvans
Credit Cards
Disabled Facilities
Email
Fax
Film
Food
Gardens
Golf
Hotels
Libraries
Opening Hours
Pubs/Bars
Shops/Gifts
Taxis:
Telephone No.
Tourist Information
Vets
Web Address
Illustration(s) or 
