Ninian Park
Cardiff (Leckwith), Cardiff, Wales
Ninian Park, Cardiff (Leckwith), Wales — opened 1 Sep 1910, 59 rugby league games hosted, home of Cardiff City Blue Dragons, 1981-1984 (Second Division); also Wales's primary rugby league international venue, 1981-1995.
Sourcing caveat: The Test-match list above was independently re-verified by the assistant via a direct fetch of rugbyleagueproject.org's own venue results page, which surfaced two fixtures (4 Mar 1984 v France, 1 Feb 1995 v England) not in the initial research pass; all seven are now cross-checked directly against that source.
Ground facts
| Opened | 1 Sep 1910 (Opened as Cardiff City F.C.'s football ground; originally planned under the working name 'Sloper Park', renamed Ninian Park after backer Lt-Col Lord Ninian Crichton-Stuart. Demolished 2009 and replaced by Cardiff City Stadium nearby.) |
| Home club | Cardiff City Blue Dragons, 1981-1984 (Second Division); also Wales's primary rugby league international venue, 1981-1995 |
| Games hosted (rugby league, on record) | 59 |
| Top recorded crowd | 10,250 (Rugby League — Group C, 9 Oct 1995, 1995 Rugby League World Cup: Wales 28-6 France) |
| Capacity | opened at approximately 7,000; peak recorded attendance 62,634 (1959, football); reduced sharply after the Safety of Sports Grounds Act 1975, down to around 10,000 by 1977; final capacity at closure (2009) was 21,508 |
| Test matches hosted | 7 |
| Floodlights installed | installed 1960 — one of the last Football League grounds to get them |
| Surface | Originally ash/slag banking terraces; the pitch reportedly used sea-washed turf at one point, which proved troublesome |
| First rugby league match | Cardiff 21-26 Salford (Second Division), 30 Aug 1981, attendance 9,247 |
| Years used | 1981–1995 |
| Location | Cardiff (Leckwith), Cardiff |
Name history
- Sloper Park — working/planning name before opening
- Ninian Park — 1910-2009
Rugby league history
A significant Welsh rugby league venue in its era — home of Cardiff City Blue Dragons (Second Division) in the early 1980s and Wales's primary rugby league international venue through the mid-1990s, hosting seven full internationals including two 1995 Rugby League World Cup group matches. Primarily famous as Cardiff City F.C.'s football ground.
Historic Test matches, Cup & Grand Finals hosted
- 8 Nov 1981 — Wales 15-20 England, attendance 8,102
- 24 Oct 1982 — Wales 7-37 Australia (Kangaroos Tour)
- 4 Mar 1984 — Wales 13-12 France
- 30 Oct 1994 — Wales 4-46 Australia (Kangaroos Tour), attendance 8,729
- 1 Feb 1995 — Wales 18-16 England
- 9 Oct 1995 — Wales 28-6 France (1995 Rugby League World Cup, Group A), attendance 10,250
- 12 Oct 1995 — Western Samoa 56-10 France (1995 Rugby League World Cup)
Pre-dates the site's structured match-by-match records for these competitions, so listed here as sourced facts rather than linked match pages.
Notable games played here
| Date | Competition | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Group C, 9 Oct 1995 | 1995 Rugby League World Cup | Wales 28-6 France |
| Group C, 12 Oct 1995 | 1995 Rugby League World Cup | Western Samoa 56-10 France |
Only matches we have full, sourced records for are listed here — other historic games mentioned above may not have a dedicated match page built yet (World Cup coverage in particular is still expanding tournament by tournament).
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
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