The Arms Park took its name from the Cardiff Arms Inn which was located on the east side of the site currently occupied by the Angel Hotel and which had been in operation since the late eighteenth century. The Park has played a longstanding role in the social life of the developing town, having played host to religious meetings, circuses and military parades, as well as providing a venue for various forms of sport, of which cricket and rugby were to the fore. Cardiff’s first game was played there in December 1876.
The first sports building on the site was a cricket pavilion erected in 1870. This was followed by the first rugby stand in 1881, no images of which remain. A second stand, a much more substantial affair, was built and opened before the game against Liverpool in December 1885. Wings were added to this in 1893/94, significantly increasing the capacity of the ground. The first international was played there in 1884.
The next major development occurred with the opening of a splendid new pavilion in 1904 that served both the cricket and rugby sides. A new stand, designed by eminent sports architect Archie Leitch, was built in 1912 and capable of accommodating 3,000 spectators. This was extended in the 1920s and, with further developments in the 1930s, took the ground’s capacity to over 40,000. The latter included a new two-tier north stand that was opened in 1933. Further developments to the east and west terraces, together with an extension to the south stand then took place in the 1950s.
The competing demands of the Cardiff club and WRU led to an agreement in the late 1960s whereby Glamorgan County Cricket Club would transfer its operations to Sophia Gardens thus enabling a new club ground to be built on the cricket pitch and the old rugby ground developed as an exclusive home for the national rugby team. The club ground was officially opened in 1970.
The phased development of the new national ground, starting with the north stand and east terrace, took place over many years and was only finally complete in 1984. Then, in preparation for the Rugby World Cup of 1999, the whole ground was demolished and the Millennium Stadium arose from its ashes.
The first sports building on the site was a cricket pavilion erected in 1870. This was followed by the first rugby stand in 1881, no images of which remain. A second stand, a much more substantial affair, was built and opened before the game against Liverpool in December 1885. Wings were added to this in 1893/94, significantly increasing the capacity of the ground. The first international was played there in 1884.
The next major development occurred with the opening of a splendid new pavilion in 1904 that served both the cricket and rugby sides. A new stand, designed by eminent sports architect Archie Leitch, was built in 1912 and capable of accommodating 3,000 spectators. This was extended in the 1920s and, with further developments in the 1930s, took the ground’s capacity to over 40,000. The latter included a new two-tier north stand that was opened in 1933. Further developments to the east and west terraces, together with an extension to the south stand then took place in the 1950s.
The competing demands of the Cardiff club and WRU led to an agreement in the late 1960s whereby Glamorgan County Cricket Club would transfer its operations to Sophia Gardens thus enabling a new club ground to be built on the cricket pitch and the old rugby ground developed as an exclusive home for the national rugby team. The club ground was officially opened in 1970.
The phased development of the new national ground, starting with the north stand and east terrace, took place over many years and was only finally complete in 1984. Then, in preparation for the Rugby World Cup of 1999, the whole ground was demolished and the Millennium Stadium arose from its ashes.