Cardiff, SWALEC Stadium

Glamorgan Cricket have their headquarters at the SWALEC stadium in Cardiff, adjacent to the city centre and River Taff. During the 2007 season, the old ground was redeveloped into a magnificent new stadium, with a capacity of approx. 16,000. Work was completed in March 2008, with the impressive new ground hosting the First Ashes Test between England and Australia in 2009.

Glamorgan have played at the SWALEC stadium since 1967 having previously staged games in the Welsh capital at Cardiff Arms Park, next to the Millennium Stadium. The development of the Welsh National Stadium - now the Millennium Stadium - led to the transfer of the cricket ground into the recreation ground, north of Sophia Gardens at the end of the 1966 season.

The Arms Park had been the first ground used by Glamorgan when they played their inaugural fixture in 1889, and their first-ever County Championship fixture in 1921. The final county cricket match was staged at the Arms Park in 1966, and the cricket ground is now occupied by the rugby ground currently used by the Cardiff Blues.

Many famous games have been staged at the SWALEC stadium, including the match in 1969 when Glamorgan defeated Worcestershire to win the county title. In recent years, the Cardiff ground has also hosted One-day Internationals, and it was the base used by Australia when they won the World Cup in 1999.

the adjacent Sophia Gardens takes its name from Sophia, the wife of the second Marquess of Bute, whose family owned the land on which the recreation grounds were laid out in the mid-19th century. From the 1860s onwards, the Marquess encouraged healthy recreation on their land, and when they handed their property over to Cardiff Corporation after the Second World War, they insisted that the land should continue to be preserved for sporting pursuits.

Find out more information about the history of Sophia Gardens and the SWALEC stadium, its ground records and a listing of the matches that the ground has staged.

For more information about the Cardiff Arms Park ground.

Looking for accommodation in the Cardiff area? Visit a list of hotels near the ground and in the city centre.

Floodlit Cricket at the SWALEC stadium

During the spring of 2005, permanent floodlights were installed at the SWALEC stadium, and on April 22nd, they were formally switched on by David Morgan, the Chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board, and a past Chairman of Glamorgan.

Glamorgan Cricket have subsequently staged up to ten floodlit matches a year under their permanent lights, including their thrilling, all-action matches in the Twenty20 Cup. On August 30th 2006, England played Pakistan in a day-night One Day International at Cardiff as part of the NatWest Series, and England will visit Cardiff, and the splendid new stadium, again in September 2008 for their floodlit One Day International against South Africa.