Ninian Park was a football stadium in the Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales, that was the home of Cardiff City for 99 years. Opened in 1910 with a single wooden stand, it underwent numerous renovations during its lifespan and hosted fixtures with over 60,000 spectators in attendance. At the time of its closure in 2009, it had a capacity of 21,508.
Cardiff City had originally been playing home fixtures at Sophia Gardens but the lack of facilities at the ground had prevented them from joining the Southern Football League. To combat this, club founder Bartley Wilson secured a plot of land from Cardiff Corporation that had previously been used as a rubbish tip and construction of a new ground began in 1909. The stadium was completed a year later and named Ninian Park after Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Ninian Crichton-Stuart, who had acted as a financial guarantor for the build. A friendly match against Football League First Division champions Aston Villa was organised to open the ground. It was originally constructed with a single wooden stand and three large banks made of ash, but gradual improvements saw stands constructed on all sides of the pitch. The four stands were named the Canton Stand, the Grange End, the Popular Bank and the Grandstand.
The ground was also used as one of the home venues for the Wales national football team from 1911 until the late 1980s, hosting 84 international fixtures during its existence. Safety concerns led to the ground's capacity being drastically reduced and Cardiff Arms Park replacing the stadium as the preferred home venue for the national side. The Welsh national side holds the record attendance for a match at Ninian Park; 62,634 fans watched a fixture against England on 17 October 1959. Cardiff City's club record attendance of 57,893 came at the stadium during a Football League fixture against Arsenal on 22 April 1953. The ground hosted its last match on 25 April 2009 against Ipswich Town and was demolished soon after, being replaced by the adjacent newly constructed Cardiff City Stadium. The site was converted into a residential housing estate which was completed in 2010.
History Construction and early years
Following the founding of the club in 1899, Cardiff City (originally named Riverside A.F.C.) played their home matches at Sophia Gardens. The club was becoming increasingly popular with local people, but the facilities at Sophia Gardens were deemed inadequate for this growing support due to the lack of turnstiles or an enclosed pitch. The limitations meant the club was forced to turn down an invitation to join the newly formed Southern Football League Second Division in 1908. To capitalise on growing interest, Cardiff organised friendly matches against Crystal Palace, Bristol City and Middlesbrough that were held at Cardiff Arms Park and the Harlequins Ground, part of Cardiff High School. The attendances convinced club founder Bartley Wilson of the potential success of a professional football club in Cardiff, and he approached the Bute Estate, a large landholder within the city, about securing a plot of land to build a new ground at Leckwith Common.
The club was instead offered an area of waste ground by Councillor John Mander which was known as Tanyard Lane with the incentive that Cardiff Corporation would assist in the construction of the ground. Located between Sloper Road and a local railway station, the area had been used previously as a rubbish tip and an allotment ground. The club chose an area of around five acres near a junction on Leckwith Road. They were offered the ground on an initial seven-year lease with a yearly rent of £90. This was to be supported by guarantors should the club have financial difficulties and be unable to maintain payments. Local volunteers and workers were used to clear the site of debris and level the surface. The ground was surrounded by large mounds of ash and slag sourced from the furnaces of local companies and used to form banking for spectators. A white fence was erected around the outside of the ground. A small 200-seat wooden stand and changing rooms were added to complete the build.
To secure the site, the club was required to provide two or more guarantors to back the deal. One of the guarantors who had initially agreed to support the project later pulled out during development. This led the club's solicitor, Norman Robertson, to address a local council meeting, stating that "there had been difficulties in obtaining promises of support" due to the uncertain state of the coal industry. Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Ninian Crichton-Stuart, son of John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute, stepped in to offer his financial support. In appreciation of his contribution, the ground was subsequently named Ninian Park, replacing the original planned name Sloper Park. The other four guarantors for the site were David Alfred Thomas, 1st Viscount Rhondda, J. Bell Harrison and local councillors Charles Wall and H.C. Vivian. A further 24 people offered to become sureties if their contribution would be limited to £5.
Harry Bradshaw, secretary of the Southern Football League, inspected the ground ahead of the 1910–11 season. He declared that Ninian Park had "the making of the finest football ground in the country" and allowed Cardiff City to join the Southern League's Second Division. Cardiff held two trial matches at the ground, the club's professional players competing against its amateur players in preparation for the opening match. The new ground was officially opened at 5:00 pm on 1 September 1910 with a friendly against Aston Villa, reigning champions of the Football League First Division, that attracted a crowd of around 7,000 people. The match began with a ceremonial kick-off performed by Lord Ninian and ended in a 2–1 defeat for Cardiff. Jack Evans became the first player to score for the club at the ground. The first competitive match played at Ninian Park was the opening match of the 1910–11 season, which took place three weeks later on 24 September 1910. The match ended in a 4–1 victory for Cardiff over Ton Pentre and attracted a crowd of around 8,000. In November, a larger timber stand that could hold up to 3,000 spectators was built at the Canton end of the ground. Several players who worked as labourers in their spare time helped to complete construction. The stand was extended three years later to cover the length of the pitch.
Less than a year after it opened, Ninian Park was chosen as the new home ground for the Wales national football team, replacing Cardiff Arms Park. It hosted its first international fixture on 6 March 1911, a 2–2 draw against Scotland in front of 17,000 spectators in the 1910–11 British Home Championship. The Times described the ground as "primitive" and reported that it had contributed to the poor standard of play. During its formative years, the pitch sometimes bore signs of its former use as a rubbish tip with debris such as glass often rising to the surface. The club paid players 6d an hour to arrive early before matches and help clear the pitch of objects. This approach was not always successful; Scottish international Peter McWilliam suffered a gash to his leg in the first international fixture that ended his playing career, and Wales' Billy Meredith also suffered a cut knee during the match. Cardiff's Jack Evans was scarred for life in a similar incident in a later match when a piece of glass cut his knee. In the early years at the stadium, the ground contained only one changing room and washing area, meaning home and away teams shared facilities. This continued until a separate dressing room was constructed in 1913. A local primary school, originally named Virgil Street Board School, adopted the name of the ground in 1911, becoming Ninian Park Primary School.
Football League and development
Cardiff won promotion from the Second Division of the Southern Football League to the First Division in 1912–13. Following the resumption of league football after the First World War, the team's fourth-placed finish in the 1919–20 season raised enough income to eliminate the club's debts. This also allowed for the construction of an all-seater stand at Ninian Park behind the north goal which was named the Canton Stand. In 1920, Cardiff was elected to the Second Division of The Football League, helping attendances increase significantly. Matches against well known clubs in the top two divisions of the English football league system attracted considerable interest, with attendances averaging over 28,000 in the Second Division. Further improvements were implemented after this first season in The Football League; a roof was erected over the new Canton Stand, the spectator banks were raised and the pitch was relaid with sea-washed turf, a fine variety of grass grown on the coast that is cleansed by tidal flow. The club stated that the new playing surface was "now equal to the best in the country." Attendances rose again as Cardiff won promotion to the First Division after one season. The opening match of the 1921–22 season attracted a crowd of over 55,000 for a 1–0 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur. The turnstiles were closed once 50,000 spectators had been let into the ground, but the remaining crowds outside, still queuing for entry, forced open the exit gates and entered the ground. Club estimates put the attendance at between 56,000 and 60,000, with spectators even climbing the scoreboard to gain a vantage point.
In 1923, plans were initiated to build new dressing rooms and offices at the ground but the project proved too costly. This was partly due to the expense of replacing the sea-washed turf, which had proved troublesome and had been described as "treacherous" in the two years since it had been installed. The pitch at the ground would prove problematic for several seasons and the club eventually enlisted the help of seed specialists Suttons to improve the quality of the surface. Victory in the 1927 FA Cup Final raised enough funds for a roof to be erected over the terrace at the Grangetown end of the ground. Built by local company Connies & Meaden Limited, it was officially opened on 1 September 1928 before a league match against Burnley by the Lord Mayor of Cardiff, Arthur John Howell. It could hold 18,000 spectators. The investment in the stadium proved detrimental to the team as manager Fred Stewart was left with little money to reinvest in an ageing squad. Replacements were sourced from amateur clubs, but the side was relegated to the Football League Third Division South by 1932. With the club's finances dwindling, the board was keen to add new revenue streams. Boxing matches were soon held at Ninian Park with the first professional event in August 1931 featuring former British light-heavyweight champion Frank Moody. The 1932 Cardiff Sports Carnival was also based at the ground, which included the final of the 12-mile road race finishing with three laps around the stands. The idea of installing a greyhound track at the stadium was also proposed the same year but was met with opposition from council and footballing authorities before being abandoned.