A new sports stadium opened in Cardiff,
capital of Wales, in June 1999. The stadium
stands proudly over the city as there aren't
many other high buildings. It was built on the
site of the world-famous Cardiff Arms Park
rugby stadium.
The original Cardiff Arms Park was a piece of
ground next to the River Taff, given to the city
residents in 1803 by the Marquis of Bute. The
idea was that it would be used for leisure
activities. The first sporting event on the piece
of ground was in 1848 when a cricket match
was organised but it wasn't until 1881 that the
first seating area of 300 seats was built. Over
the next hundred years, Cardiff Arms Park
became well known as a location for many
important rugby matches.
By the 1990s it had become clear that the
stadium was no longer big enough. At that
time, there was room for 53,000 people in the
Cardiff stadium (including 11,000 standing).
This total number would soon be reduced by a
law on safety which stopped people standing
in stadiums.
A number of different choices were looked at.
One was to expand the size of the existing
stadium, increasing the number of seats by
one-third. Another suggestion was to find
another site1 somewhere in Cardiff to
build a new stadium. But in the end it was
decided to knock down the old stadium and
build a new one on the same site.
1 site = Standort
Work began on 27 April 1997. It was the first
stadium in Britain to have a moving roof so the
whole stadium can be covered if it rains or the
roof can be left open if it is fine. Another
successful design feature2 is that wherever
you sit in the stadium you have an excellent
view, even if you're in one of the corners.
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