Tickets available for Olympic football at the Millennium Stadium

Posted by Now Cardiff on Jun 23, 2011

More tickets for London 2012 Olympic football matches at the Millennium Stadium will be available from tomorrow for fans who missed out on the first draft.

The second round of tickets sales will start tomorrow at 6.00am and finish at 6.00pm on 17 July and London 2012 organisers have announced that availability is highest for football, which makes up 1.7 million of the remaining 2.3 million tickets.

Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium is set host 11 world-class football games across both the women’s and men’s tournaments, including the prestigious men’s quarter-final on 4 August and the Bronze Medal match on 10 August.

And the eyes of the world will be on Wales for the very first events of the 2012 Olympic Games on July 25, with two women’s football matches set for Cardiff ahead of the opening ceremony in London.

“The Millennium Stadium is an excellent choice for sports fans wanting to be part of the greatest sporting show on earth, with organisers announcing special prices and larger availability across Olympic football events,” said Millennium Stadium General Manager Gerry Toms.

“Our city-centre stadium can hold crowds of up to 74,500 per event and has attracted a total of 11 football events, including the first Olympic event of London 2012 and the men’s quarter final and Bronze medal match.

“I urge all sports fans to take advantage of this second opportunity to get hold of tickets for world-class football at the Millennium Stadium and apply to be part of the London 2012 action in Wales.”

From tomorrow, tickets will be on sale at a range of price categories, and across a range of sports and LOCOG have confirmed that the first 10 days (until 6pm on 3 July) will be open exclusively to the people who applied in the initial application phase but were not allocated any tickets.

Applicants who received tickets in the first round of sales will also get another chance to purchase tickets in the second round from 6.00am on 8 July to 6.00pm on 17 July.

The second round of sales will use a ‘first come first served’ application system. Applicants will be notified whether their request for tickets has been successful between 24 and 48 hours after the request is submitted. Payment will be taken after the 10 day process, over a period of up to four days – and applicants will then be notified that the transaction and ticket purchase is complete.

Football fans will find more information, special prices and larger limits via the official website www.tickets.london2012.com

Travel advice for Cardiff Speedway event on June 25th

Posted by Now Cardiff on Jun 22, 2011

On Saturday June 25 , the world’s 15 best speedway riders descend on the Millennium Stadium for round five of the World Championship FIM Speedway Grand Prix series.

A crowd of 40,000 is expected to attend the event which starts at 5pm.

The best way to travel to the event is by public transport and coach wherever possible. Those bringing their cars into the city can ease worries over congestion and parking costs by using the Council’s park and ride services.

There are two park and ride sites, one at the International Sports Village (Blue car park, post code CF11 0JS) and at County Hall (Green car park , post code CF10 4UW). Both sites can be accessed from J33 of the M4. Signs should be followed from M4 as they will direct drivers to available park and ride sites at time of arrival

The service costs £10 per car. Please follow the road signs from the M4.

The drop off points and collection points are –

International Sports Village – Tresillian Way north, at rear of Railway Station

County Hall – Callaghan Square north, in lay-by by Eversheds

Both car parks will have a staff presence from 8:30am and will open at 9:00am. The first bus will leave at 9:00am. The last bus will leave the pick-up points at 10:30pm, with the car parks closing at 11pm.

Coach parking will also be provided at the bus park, just off Sophia Close .There are dedicated coach parking areas with driver facilities. The cost per coach is £10.00.

Road closures in place for the concerts are as follows -

Small road closures will be in place from 3pm until 9.30pm along Westgate Street, Park Street and Havelock Street

From 2.30pm until 9.30pm,  closure of Station Approach and Central Square, except to buses using the bus station.

Millennium Stadium gets dirty for Speedway Grand Prix final

Posted by Now Cardiff on Jun 20, 2011

Up to 150 trucks piled high with shale have started to arrive at the Millennium Stadium in preparation for the 11^thconsecutive FIM Doodson British Speedway Grand Prix at Cardiff’s multi-event venue on Saturday, 25 June.

The iconic arena, which just last week played host to two spectacular sell-out Take That concerts in front of 129,000 fans, will be transformed into a world class racing track in five days as the countdown begins for the Speedway world championships.

Three thousand tons of shale is required to build the 278metre track which will withstand speeds of over 70mph from 15 of the world’s best riders and the preparations are already underway for a feast of motor sport action.

The biggest event on the Speedway calendar was first held at the multi-event arena in front of over 30,000 fans in June 2001 and has grown year on year with over 40,000 fans expected to race through the gates on the weekend.

The stadium, which is wholly owned and operated by the Welsh Rugby Union, is renowned for attracting some of the biggest and best events to Cardiff thanks to its city-centre location, fully retractable roof and removable pitch.

Millennium Stadium General Manager Gerry Toms said: “The Speedway Grand Prix is a fantastic occasion and I’m thrilled to welcome the organisers back to Cardiff for the 11^thconsecutive world championship.

“While the Millennium Stadium boasts a fantastic reputation as a multi-event venue, it never fails to impress me how efficiently we can transform the stadium ‘bowl’ in conjunction with the biggest and best event organisers from all over the world.

“In just three weeks of this month, the stadium will have played host to some of the best rugby action, live music and motor sports in the world. And of course, with the Wales’ summer internationals games against England and Argentina in August, we will be bringing our pitch back to the home of Welsh sport next week.”

Paul Bellamy, Managing Director of event promoters BSI Speedway commented: “It’s a great achievement by Ole Olsen and his team that we are able to build temporary tracks in stadiums throughout Europe that are not used to running speedway on a regular basis.

“These tracks are now widely recognised by the riders as being some of the best tracks they perform on and I am looking forward to another bumper crowd on Saturday watching a true World Championship motorsport event.

“The city will certainly know speedway has arrived on Saturday afternoon, with the Fanzone in St Mary’s Street as well as performances throughout the afternoon from the ‘Globe of Death’ motorcycle stunt team outside Gate 3 at the Millennium Stadium.  Stacey Solomon then kicks-off the in-stadium entertainment around 16:20 and, with the event starting at 17:00, it is an action packed afternoon and great entertainment for the whole family.”

Tickets are still available from £29 for adults and £18 for children under 16 via the ticket hotline 0844 277 7888 and at the Millennium Stadium website: www.millenniumstadium.com A family pass (2 adults and 2 children) can be purchased for £90.

All ticket collections will be from the Millennium Stadium’s Cardiff Arms Cafe Bar at 8 Westgate Street, where fans can also enjoy the new Speedway Menu, from 10am until 5pm on Friday and Saturday.

Millennium Stadium, Cardiff to be RWC 2015 venue

Posted by Now Cardiff on May 25, 2011

The Welsh Rugby Union has announced the Millennium Stadium will be a venue for international matches to be played in Rugby World Cup 2015.

The event will be hosted by the RFU and Wales is the only nation outside England where matches will be played.

Details of the schedule of matches to be played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff will be confirmed when the full tournament structure is announced in due course.

The decision to confirm games will be played in Wales has been welcomed by the WRU Chairman David Pickering and the Group Chief Executive, Roger Lewis.

 

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