History and description
Cardiff City Stadium officially opened on the 22nd of July 2009 with a friendly match between Cardiff City and Celtic. It replaced Cardiff’s old ground Ninian Park, which by the early 2000s had become severely outdated.
Plans for a new stadium had already been approved in 2005, but it had taken until 2007 for construction to begin due to the club’s financial problems.
Cardiff City Stadium has recently hosted various internationals of the Wales national team as the Millennium Stadium was deemed too large for the occasion.
In 2013, following the club’s promotion to the Premier League, Cardiff announced plans to increase capacity to just under 33,500 seats by adding a second tier to the Ninian Stand. Despite the club’s relegation at the end of the season, works went ahead anyway and were completed before the start of the 2014-15 season.
In 2015, Cardiff City Stadium hosted the UEFA Super Cup between Champions League winner Real Madrid and Europa League winner Sevilla (2-0).