Rodney Parade
Newport, Cardiff, Wales
Rodney Parade, Newport, Wales — opened 1877, 1 rugby league games hosted, home of Celtic Crusaders / Crusaders RL (Super League tenant from 2010, following this ground's 2009 preview fixture).
Sourcing caveat: The exact date of this match has one minor unresolved discrepancy: Rugby League Project and Wikipedia's 2009 Celtic Crusaders season article both give 22 August 2009, while a South Wales rugby league specialist site gives 23 August -- 22 August, with two independent sources, looks more likely correct, but this is not fully resolved.
Ground facts
| Opened | 1877 (Newport Athletic Club secured the land from Godfrey Morgan, 1st Viscount Tredegar, in 1877. Still an active football/rugby union venue today, capacity 8,700 (7,850 for football), home to Dragons RFC (rugby union) since 2003 and Newport County AFC since 2012. Our directory's region field reads "Cardiff" -- Rodney Parade is unambiguously located in Newport city centre, roughly 20km from Cardiff, in the historic county of Monmouthshire rather than Cardiff's Glamorgan. A direct check of Rugby League Project's own venue page shows it uses the identical "Newport / Cardiff / Wales" three-line location format, so this appears to be RLP's own broader South-Wales regional grouping rather than a claim that the ground is literally in Cardiff -- the same loose pattern recurs on at least one third-party ticketing database. The ground has never, in any source checked, been literally located in or renamed to reflect Cardiff.) |
| Home club | Celtic Crusaders / Crusaders RL (Super League tenant from 2010, following this ground's 2009 preview fixture) |
| Games hosted (rugby league, on record) | 1 |
| Top recorded crowd | 5,597 |
| Capacity | 8,700 (rugby); 7,850 (football) |
| Years used | 2009 |
| Location | Newport, Cardiff |
Name history
Rugby league history
Rodney Parade's single recorded rugby league match, a 68-0 defeat of the Celtic Crusaders by Leeds Rhinos on 22 August 2009 (2009 Engage Super League, Round 25, attendance 5,597), was explicitly billed in advance as a preview of the Crusaders' permanent relocation to Rodney Parade from the 2010 season -- the club had previously been based at Bridgend's Brewery Field. Leeds went top of Super League on points difference with the win over a severely depleted Crusaders side missing six squad members. The Crusaders (later renamed Crusaders RL) went on to play as a full Super League tenant at Rodney Parade before folding after the 2011 season.
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
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