| Cardiff Wales Stadium | |||||
_logo.svg){kind=logo} | |||||
 Thatchers Pavilion | |||||
 Interactive map of Sophia Gardens | |||||
| Ground information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Cardiff,Wales | ||||
| Country | Wales | ||||
| Coordinates | 51°29′14″N3°11′29″W / 51.48722°N 3.19139°W /51.48722; -3.19139 | ||||
| Capacity | 15,643[1] | ||||
| Owner | Cardiff City Council | ||||
| Architect | HLN Architects[2] | ||||
| Website | http://www.thesseswalec.com/ | ||||
| End names | |||||
River Taff End Cathedral Road End | |||||
| International information | |||||
| First Test | 8–12 July 2009: England v Australia | ||||
| Last Test | 8–11 July 2015: England v Australia | ||||
| First ODI | 20 May 1999: Australia v New Zealand | ||||
| Last ODI | 1 June 2025: England v West Indies | ||||
| First T20I | 5 September 2010: England v Pakistan | ||||
| Last T20I | 10 September 2025: England v South Africa | ||||
| First WODI | 17 August 2003: England v South Africa | ||||
| Only WT20I | 31 August 2015: England v Australia | ||||
| Team information | |||||
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| As of 13 September 2026 Source:ESPNcricinfo | |||||
TheCardiff Wales Stadium, which is part ofSophia Gardens Cardiff (/səˈfaɪə/suh-FY-uh;[3]Welsh:Gerddi Soffia Caerdydd), is acricket stadium inCardiff,Wales. It is located inSophia Gardens on theRiver Taff. It is home toGlamorgan County Cricket Club and is listed as an internationalTest cricket venue.
The venue is home toGlamorgan County Cricket Club, which has played its home matches there since 24 May 1967,[4] after moving away fromCardiff Arms Park. A 125-year lease of the ground was acquired in 1995, with the previous leaseholder,Cardiff Athletic Club, moving its cricket section (Cardiff Cricket Club) to the Diamond Ground inWhitchurch. Beside the cricket ground is the large sports hall complex of theSport Wales National Centre.Cardiff Corinthians F.C. have previously used the area for football.
Sophia Gardens has been an international cricket venue since 20 May 1999, when it played host to the1999 Cricket World Cup match betweenAustralia andNew Zealand. From 2001 to 2012, the ground was a regular venue forOne Day Internationals, hosting nine matches in 12 years, but it was not until 2006 that it hosted its firstEngland match, the first match of the series againstPakistan on 30 August 2006. In 2012, the ground was named as one of three venues for the2013 ICC Champions Trophy, along withThe Oval andEdgbaston; it hosted five matches, including the opener betweenIndia andSouth Africa on 6 June 2013, and the semi-final between India andSri Lanka on 20 June.[5] The ground also hosted twoTwenty20 Internationals between England and Pakistan in September 2010, and hosted another against Australia in August 2015.[6]
On 11 April 2008, theEngland and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced that the venue would host a series of major Test matches over the next four years. It would host its firstTest match on 8 July 2009 as the opening match of anAshes series between England and Australia.[7] This made Sophia Gardens the 100thTest match venue. In July 2011, the ECB stripped the ground of its right to host the 2012West Indies Test because of Glamorgan's late payment of the £2.5 million fee it owed for hosting the 2011Sri Lanka Test.[8] The ground was originally set to host a Test match against New Zealand in 2013, but this was given up in exchange for the 2013 Champions Trophy.[5] The ground was chosen as the venue for the first Test of the2015 Ashes series.[9]
The ground was one of 11 venues for the2019 Cricket World Cup. It was host for four group matches.[10]
The cost of redeveloping the stadium was £9.4 million. About half of this (£4.5 million) being provided as a loan byCardiff Council.[11] It is possible that the revamped stadium could host seven Test matches, nine One Day Internationals and twoWorld Cup games up to 2028, injecting at least £50 million into the local economy.[12][13][Needs updating.] Construction work on the redevelopment of Sophia Gardens began in April 2007,[7] and the redeveloped stadium was first opened for competitive matches on 9 May 2008, when the Glamorgan Dragons played theGloucestershire Gladiators in aFriends Provident Trophy match which the Gladiators won by six wickets.[14]
On 4 March 2008, Glamorgan Cricket Club announced a 10-year sponsorship deal withSWALEC, thought to be the biggest single sponsorship by a county cricket club, giving SWALEC the naming rights to the new stadium, worth in excess of £1.5 million over 10 years.[15]
In June 2015, ahead of the First Test of the2015 Ashes series, the stadium was renamed as simply "The SSE SWALEC" in reflection of the ownership of sponsors SWALEC bySSE plc.[16] The new logo from June 2015 was designed to reflect the shape of the stadium.[17] In April 2018 the stadium officially reverted to its original name of Sophia Gardens following the end of the sponsorship deal.[18]
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