APPENDIX 9
Memorandum submitted by the Millennium
Stadium, Cardiff
I refer to your enquiry dated 18 April 2000 requesting
written evidence for the forthcoming inquiry by the Culture, Media
and Sport Committee of the House of Commons.
I respond to your enquiry in sequential order.
PROJECT OUTLINE
The General Committee of the Welsh Rugby Union
looked at the status of the previous stadium's facilities in comparison
with the other rugby home nations and it was clear that whilst
the Cardiff stadium when designed in 1962 was one of the best
in the world it has been long since overtaken. England had just
completed their new 75,000 capacity stadium at Twickenham, Scotland
their new 67,000 capacity stadium at Murrayfield and France were
constructing their new 80,000 capacity stadium in Paris for the
Football World Cup in 1998. Ireland are also proposing a new stadium.
In addition, the General Committee looked at other National Stadia
in the UK and identified that Wembley had plans for major investment.
It was clear that without significant investment Wales, Welsh
Rugby and its Capital City would be left behind if action was
not taken.
The National Stadium Cardiff Arms Park had its
capacity reduced down to 53,000 and 11,000 of those were standing.
The reductions since the stadium was designed were due to safety
requirements and the likely requirement for all-seater stadia
would have reduced the capacity even further to 48,000.
The previous stadium was predominately a rugby
stadium but also used for international football and many other
leisure and community uses including boxing, pop concerts, bands,
religious festivals and choirs. This multi-use requirement created
the requirement from day one of the new stadium to have a roof
and to provide a natural grass pitch for rugby. It was decided
that a retractable roof should become part of the Union's brief.
The only retractable roof stadium developed in Europe is in Amsterdam
Arena with a capacity of 50,000.
Consequently it was planned to demolish the
former Cardiff Arms Park and develop a new multi-purpose 72,500
capacity stadium with a fully retractable roof and complete the
project in time for the Rugby World Cup 1999. The opening match
of this global event took place in the Millennium Stadium 1 October
1999.
The grant from the Millennium Commission was
released to Millennium Stadium plc—a wholly owned subsidiary
of the Welsh Rugby Union Ltd—the sports governing body in
Wales.
The completed stadium staged interalia, the
final of RWC'99—the last great global sporting event of
the Millennium.
To further celebrate the Millennium, a rock
concert was held in the stadium on 31 December 1999 and two days
later a Millennium Songs of Praise was televised from the stadium.
Both of these events were the largest of their kind ever held
in a closed arena.
In addition, a fundamental part of the agreement
with the Millennium Commission is that we make the stadium available
on 15 days each year for amateur sporting or cultural organisations
to stage their community events. Also, a Charitable Trust has
been established which will receive a levy on ticket sales and
a percentage of profits and the accumulated sum will be administered
by the appointed trustees towards charitable objects as per the
attached extract[2]
from the company's articles of association.
THE ROLE
OF THE
MILLENNIUM COMMISSION
The administration and project monitoring employed
by the Millennium Commission has been very good.
Scheduled target dates were identified at the
outset to assist the monitoring process as well as frequent meetings
involving senior officials from the respective organisations.
This was reinforced by a senior representative from the Millennium
Commission attending Board Meetings as an observer, as well as
regular meetings to co-ordinate and monitor key stages in the
development.
PROJECT BUDGET
The initial project budget at the planning stage
was quantified at £120 million towards which the Millennium
Commission approved a grant of £46 million.
Due to design changes and related issues, the
final project cost increased to £130 million but no approach
has yet been made to the Millennium Commission for any additional
assistance by way of a supplemental grant.
The principal change to the design which had
the most significant affect on the project cost was the construction
of a riverwalk to provide addition entry/egress from the stadium.
The funding of this was not envisaged during the planning stage
but became an essential and added £12.5 million to the project
spend.
PROJECT TIMETABLE
The Millennium Stadium was completed and the
certificate of completion was issued on 29 October 1999.
The project was completed in time for the Rugby
World Cup 1999 and it is anticipated the stadium and the final
of RWC'99 attracted a global audience in excess of three billion
viewers spread across 157 countries throughout the world.
LONG-TERM
VIABILITY
Clearly, the long term viability of the stadium
is dependent upon developing a full and comprehensive events diary.
Initially, Rugby Union will feature highly in
the event calendar, as this company is a subsidiary of the Welsh
Rugby Union Ltd—the sports governing body in Wales.
However, a basic diet of Rugby Union will not
be sufficient to ensure the long term viability of the stadium
and we must attract a variety of other sporting and entertainment
functions. To date, two full capacity soccer internationals have
been staged as well as a rock concert and a religious festival.
The diverse functions staged to date highlight the multiple uses
of the stadium, which with its retractable roof makes it unique
in the UK and hopefully, a persuasive sales feature to those contemplating
stadium events in the UK.
Our events diary is starting to grow and we
are confident that this impetus will continue and be assisted
by the proposed closure of Wembley Stadium, when we expect to
attract many significant events to the Millennium Stadium.
I trust the above information proves useful
and if you require more information or even a visit to the Millennium
Stadium, I would be delighted to make the necessary arrangements.
May 2000
2 Not printed Back
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