Principality Stadium

Principality Stadium
Stadiwm Principality

The Westgate Street entrance (BT Stand)
Former names	Millennium Stadium Stadiwm y Mileniwm
Location	Westgate Street Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom
Coordinates	51°28′41″N 3°10′57″W / 51.47806°N 3.18250°W / 51.47806; -3.18250Coordinates: 51°28′41″N 3°10′57″W / 51.47806°N 3.18250°W / 51.47806; -3.18250
Public transit	Cardiff Central Cardiff Central bus station
Owner	Welsh Rugby Union
Operator	Welsh Rugby Union
Executive suites	124
Capacity	74,500
Field size	120 m × 79 m (394 ft × 259 ft)
Surface	Grass (1999–2014) Desso (2014–present)
Construction
Broke ground	1997
Opened	26 June 1999
Construction cost	£121 million
Architect	Bligh Lobb Sports Architecture
Structural engineer	WS Atkins
Main contractors	Laing
Tenants
Welsh Rugby Union (National team) Football Association of Wales (National team) Major sporting finals hosted Rugby World Cup: 1999 Heineken Cup: 2002, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2014 FA Cup: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 League Cup: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 Rugby League Challenge Cup finals: 2003, 2004, 2005
Website
www.millenniumstadium.com

The Millennium Stadium (Welsh: Stadiwm y Mileniwm), currently known for sponsorship purposes as the Principality Stadium (Welsh: Stadiwm Principality), is the national stadium of Wales, located in Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and has also staged games of the Wales national football team. Initially built to host the 1999 Rugby World Cup, it has gone on to host many other large-scale events, such as the Tsunami Relief concert, the Super Special Stage of Wales Rally Great Britain, the Speedway Grand Prix of Great Britain and various music concerts. It also hosted six FA Cup finals and several other high-profile football fixtures while Wembley Stadium was being redeveloped.

The stadium is owned by Millennium Stadium plc, a subsidiary company of the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU). The stadium was designed by a team led by architects Bligh Lobb Sports Architecture. WS Atkins were the structural engineers, and the building contractor was Laing. The total construction cost of the stadium was £121 million, of which the Millennium Commission funded £46 million.