Rodney Parade
 Rodney Parade West Stand | |
 | |
| Location | Rodney Parade Rodney Road Newport NP19 0UU |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51°35′18″N 2°59′16″W / 51.58833°N 2.98778°W |
| Public transit | Newport railway station |
| Owner | Newport RFC |
| Operator | Rodney Parade Limited |
| Capacity | 8,500 (7,850 for football)[1][2] |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1877 |
| Architect | Thomas Douglas-Jones |
| Tenants | |
| Newport RFC Newport County A.F.C. Newport Gwent Dragons | |
Rodney Parade is a stadium in the city of Newport, South Wales. It is operated by Rodney Parade Limited, a company wholly owned by Newport Rugby Football Club. It is located on the east bank of the River Usk in Newport city centre. The ground is on Rodney Road, a short walk from the city's central bus and railway stations via Newport Bridge or Newport City footbridge. There is no spectator car park at the ground but a number of multi-storey car parks are nearby.
Rodney Parade is the home ground of rugby union clubs Newport RFC and the Newport Gwent Dragons regional team.[3] It is also the home ground of Newport County football club, and is the second-oldest sports venue in the Football League, after Deepdale. However, stadium capacity is reduced for football matches.
Newport Squash Club has four courts at Rodney Parade.
Layout
Rodney Parade has two covered stands: the two-tier Hazell Stand (west) and the Bisley Stand (east) which are along the touchlines of the pitch. The upper tier of the west stand is seated with 1,996 seats, including 40 Press seats and the lower tier is a standing terrace. The east stand is all-seated with a 2,526 capacity including 144 seats in 13 hospitality boxes,[4] food/drink outlets and a gantry for television cameras. The cameras are therefore pointing westward and often show the sun setting over Newport city centre.
The North Terrace is uncovered standing and adjoins the uncovered standing terrace on the west touchline alongside the west stand. The south end of the stadium houses players' changing rooms, a media centre and the small uncovered Sytner stand with 222 seats for away football fans. Away football fans are also sited in block F of the east stand giving a total capacity of 1,300 for away football fans. A large video screen was erected at the south end in December 2013.
The hospitality suite is located in the north end of the east stand on the upper level.
The rugby ticket office and club shop is located at the north end of the East Stand next to Gate 4 accessed via the main gates to the grounds off Grafton Road. The Newport County ticket office and club shop is a separate building just inside the main gate to the ground.
To the north of the North Terrace is a floodlit grass training area. Further north, parallel to Grafton Road, is the Rodney Hall function room and the rugby clubhouse/office facilities.
History
In 1875 the Newport Athletic Club was created, and two years later they secured the use of land at Rodney Parade from Lord Tredegar for their cricket, tennis, rugby and athletics teams. Monmouthshire County Cricket Club played at Rodney Parade from 1901 to 1934. Newport rugby club enjoyed six highly successful seasons, having been unbeaten for six consecutive seasons. Newport sustained their first defeat in the 1870s, they were again unbeaten in seasons 1891-2 and 1922-3. Newport provided internationals for every one of the four home countries, as well as South Africa. Newport were once scheduled for a regular fixture, against Bristol - a team drawn from Welsh, English, Irish and Scottish internationals. The powerful All Blacks of 1924, and the strong Springboks of 1960 were considered fortunate to evade defeat at Rodney Parade.
The cricket ground which was on the site no longer exists as the land was sold and the new Maindee primary school was built on the site. Newport Cricket Club relocated to Newport International Sports Village.
In May 2012 it was agreed that Newport County football club would relocate from Newport Stadium and play its home fixtures at Rodney Parade in an initial three-year deal, the first time that the stadium would host association football matches on a regular basis. In February 2013 Newport County agreed a further 10-year lease to play at Rodney Parade.[5]
In April 2013 Newport Athletic Bowls Club relocated from Rodney Parade to Caerleon.[6]
Redevelopment
On 4 September 2007 it was announced that the Rodney Parade site was due to be redeveloped into a 15,000-capacity stadium by the beginning of the 2010-11 rugby union season. The redevelopment was backed by Newport City Council, Newport Unlimited, Newport RFC and Newport Gwent Dragons. The application received planning consent on 11 March 2009. The plan included construction of covered stands at the north and south ends and to provide cover on the currently uncovered stretch of the west touchline terrace.
In August 2010 it was announced that the target finish date for the first phase had been put back to the beginning of the 2011–12 rugby union season with the full redevelopment planned to take several years.[7] The new east stand was opened in October 2011 and named the Bisley Stand for sponsorship purposes.
In the summers of 2013 and 2014 new drainage and irrigation systems were installed under the grass playing surface.[8]
International matches
Rodney Parade has played host to six full-cap Wales rugby union international matches:
| Date | Part of | Opponent | Final score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 January 1884 | 1884 Home Nations Championship |  Scotland
|
0G, 0T - 1G, 1T |
| 4 February 1888 | 1888 Home Nations Championship | 0G, 1T - 0G, 0T | |
| 3 January 1891 | 1891 Home Nations Championship |  England
|
3 - 7 |
| 3 February 1894 | 1894 Home Nations Championship | Scotland
|
7 - 0 |
| 9 January 1897 | 1897 Home Nations Championship | England
|
11 - 0 |
| 25 March 1912 | Friendly |  France
|
14 - 8 |
See also
References
External links
| History | |
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| Home stadium |
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| Rivalries | |
| Related articles | |
