The most atmospheric rugby stadium around (Millennium Stadium (Cardiff))

Member Name: mrjoegoodwin

Product:	Millennium Stadium (Cardiff)
Date:	26/05/09 (46 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: City centre location, retractable roof, incredible atmosphere

Disadvantages: Getting tickets for big Wales games is nigh-on impossible

The 74000 capacity Millennium Stadium was built at a fraction of the cost of the new Wembley Stadium in London, and based on cost alone, should be inferior. Not so!

Situated slap bang in the middle of the city, the Millennium Stadium is in my opinion, the best rugby venue of all the 6 Nations teams. The stadium is comprised of 3 main levels - lower, middle and upper, each offering a different perspective on the action that unfolds on the pitch. Truth be told, there is not a bad seat in the entire place, and I've sat in quite a few of them! If you're in the lower tier, it's close to the action, enough to hear the tough tackling taking place just metres from your seat. Sit in the upper tier, and you still feel close to the pitch, but your perspective on the game is different - watch the tactical battle unfold, and join in with the 'Pass it!' or 'Drift!' shouts when you realise that there are opportunities available to your players that they might not have spotted from down on the pitch. They won't hear you, but you won't be able to help yourself!

Unusually for a British venue, though common in the United States and increasingly so in European football stadia, the Millennium Stadium has a retractable roof that fully covers the pitch for certain events as required. The Welsh Rugby Union team, who are the main occupants, like the roof to be closed, keeping the incredible noise from their fans inside the stadium, opposing teams often decide to expose the match to the elements and take away the crowd advantage.

Cardiff on a Welsh international day is a superb and quite unique sporting experience to rival any other. Fans gather in the city centre pubs, and because the stadium is situated in the city centre, literally spill and stagger into the stadium as kick off approaches. Ditto for after the game - win or lose, you'll get a great atmosphere in the bars and pubs around the stadium itself, and in the city. Inside the stadium, the concourses on each level are open, allowing you to meet up with friends who may be sat in a separate section to you at half time/after the match. Beer prices are cheaper than other places (take note, other 6 Nations teams!), but still more expensive than your average pint.

I've been to numerous rugby matches and one football match at the Millennium Stadium (Brighton & Hove Albion winning the League 1 playoff final a few years ago whilst Wembley was undergoing construction work), and having been to Anfield, stood on the Kop and sang 'You'll Never Walk Alone', thought that there was nothing to top that for hairs-on-neck excitement. Wrong! To stand in the Millennium Stadium and hear 'Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau' (Land of My Fathers) before a big rugby international is just unbelievable, and will keep you coming back for more.

The Stade de France may be in a more fashionable city, and Twickenham in a posher area, but the Millennium Stadium, built on a comparatively tiny budget, is in my opinion, the greatest of them all.

As a footnote, the Millennium Stadium also plays host to rock and pop concerts, and acts such as U2, Oasis and Madonna have or will play here in the near future, showing that the Millennium Stadium offers more than just a great sporting experience.

Go along, see a match, marvel at that roof, listen to the noise...what more could you ask for?

Gwlad, Gwlad!

Summary: They shouldn't have bothered rebuilding Wembley, Cardiff's Millennium Stadium knocks its spots off!