Cardiff v Palace Sat 10th April 2004
Cardiff City v Crystal Palace
Saturday 10th April k.o. 3pm
Ground Name: Ninian Park
Capacity: 14,601
Address: Sloper Road, Cardiff, CF1 8SX
Main Telephone No: 02920-221001
Ticket Office: 0845 345 1400
www.cardiffcityfc.co.uk
If you are planning to drive ensure you remove all Palace stickers etc from your car as windows are known to get broken. Exercise caution around the ground and don’t wear colours around the ground, in the car parks or in the city centre.
So if you are planning to brave it (if you use common sense you should be ok!) - then read on:
Away fans are normally housed on one side of the John Smiths Grange Terrace at one end of the ground. Around 1,000 away fans can be accommodated in this covered area, but demand can be increase. There is a mix of seating to the front and terrace to the rear.
Tickets – Adults £18.00, concessions £13.00. Terraces – Adults £17.00, Concessions £12.00
Disabled facilities at Ninian Park.
Spaces for 97 visiting fans in a disabled section in the family enclosure shared with the home support. There is a disabled toilet at the back of the enclosure. Cost is 5.00 each for the disabled person and helper. Please contact the club on the above number to make necessary arrangements 24 hours prior to kick off. There is no special parking available or facilities for blind people.
members
Coaches
Depart Holmesdale Road at 9am.
Gold members £20, season ticket holders/members £22.50, Guests £25.00
How To Get There By Car & Where To Park
Ninian Park is best accessed from Junction 33 of the M4. (this avoids the centre of Cardiff)
Join the A4232 at J33 and follow signs for Cardiff. You leave the A4232 at the second exit. After coming down the slip road stay in the left hand lane and automatically join Leckwith Road. Follow this road to the traffic lights and turn right into Sloper Road. The ground is on the left hand side. There are car parking facilities before every home game opposite the ground. The car park is accessed from Leckwith Road it is the first turning right after you join Leckwith Road (Cardiff Athletic Stadium) - cost 1.20. The Streets near the ground are residents only on matchdays. There is street parking in the area round Bessemer Road and along Virgil Street.
By Train
The nearest train station is Ninian Park Halt, which is only a
couple of minutes walk from the ground. This station is on a local
line which is served by trains from Cardiff Central.
Alternatively Grangetown Station is 10-15 minute walk from Ninan park also served by trains from Cardiff Central. From Grangetown, turn left, cross main road and turn right into Sloper Road for ground.
Cardiff Central itself is over a mile from the ground. It costs about 2.50 by taxi. The bus station is outside the railway station. L1 and L2 leave from stand C5 at quarter to and quarter past the hour to the Athletics Stadium. City Circle Bus no.1 leaves from Stand E4 at 25-past and 5 to the hour - and runs along Sloper Road.
By foot: Turn left out of station - down to main road by Hypervalue and turn left. Over bridge by Qualitex Printing and through traffic lights. Keep straight on passing
Ocean Palace Chinese Restaurant and Takeaway, Plaice Takeaway and newsagents after less than half a mile. Just after Gulf petrol station after nearly a mile, take left fork in road divide. At T-junction turn left into Leckwith road - under railway bridges, then left into Sloper Road.
Pubs / Food
Lansdowne Hotel Cardiff family pub near Ninian Park It is a Cardiff city pub - but they don’t have any trouble, children are welcome. From the M4 - take the junction after Newport -turn left onto the A48M slip road. Follow the road right to the bottom at the mini roundabout turn left - down that road about 3-400 yards - come to a newsagents - turn right then sharp left - one way street - and they are about 200 yards on the left past the traffic lights. This has been recommended by Cardiff fans and is also recommended on the Internet Football Fans guide.
As you would expect there are plenty of pubs in the city centre - St Mary Street near the railway station has several pubs cafes and restaurants. Lookout for Brains pubs which sell the wonderful hand pulled bitter, brewed in Cardiff; called Brains S.A.
To get to St Mary Street
From the railway station - walk straight ahead past Burger King. At t-junction by Clinton Cards and Greggs bakers - turn right along Wood Street towards Brains Brewery. At T-junction turn into Mary Street.
From Ninian Park - go back down Sloper Road to the junction with Leckwith road and turn right. First right into Ninian Park road and straight on for a mile passing Cardiff Central railway station. Road ends in T-junction - St Mary Street.
The Internet Football Fans Guide is still recommending the Cornwall Hotel, which
is a pub. However I am reliably informed that due to another pub nearby closing this one has now become far less appealing and is not recommended. If you want to brave it - it's 5-10 mins walking distance from the ground and stands in Cornwall Street (Taxi £2.50 From Central station) Away fans are left to enjoy a trouble free pint. It has the usual variety of beers on tap including "Brains" and has a useful Chinese/chippy directly opposite for a munch.'
The Cottage - 25 St Mary Street, is a football friendly, Brains pub. Open all day from 12
Legends in Cardiff (formerly Rosie O’Briens) 96 St Mary Street. Has large screen TV. Families welcome. However you can’t wear colours after 7pm when the pub becomes a nite spot.
Do not drink in the Ninian Park, nearest the ground. It is for City fans
only
People's best bet is to drink/eat in Canton. For posh nosh, multiple exotic
beers & whiskeys try the Chapter Arts Centre that sits between Llandaff Road
(B4258) and Market Road
There are various eateries (curry houses et al) on the A4161 - Cowbridge Road
East, which are (sort of)en route. Most of the pubs in the Canton area do a
decent pint. There are a few around the corners of the crossroads of Cowbridge
Road East & Leckwith Road (the road that runs down past Ninian Park Station to
Sloper Road (on which the stadium sits). All of these are friendly enough. . .
I would suggest folk leave Cardiff to get to the ground via the above route
(A4161) rather than Wood Street/Tudor Street/Ninian Park Road, just because
(despite it being less direct) there are more pubs, eateries, shops etc. But I
guess it depends on your priorities. . .
Food inside the ground has a reputation for not being very hot! The bacon rolls are recommended at 1.50 - but they don’t beat those at Cambridge!!
The only outlet near the ground is a corner shop on junction of Broad Street / Leckwith road. On Cornwall Street - near the Cornwall pub about 1/2 a mile from the ground is a fish and chip shop.
If you are travelling by car there is a Burger King on the services at junction 33 of the M4. There is a Macdonalds on the retail park just off the A4232.
For train travellers there is a Burger King just outside the station, a series of cafes on Wood Street (main road into city centre) St Mary Street also has several food outlets.
Things to do:
If you arrive early try a trip into the City centre where you can take a tour of the popular Millennium Stadium. If the weather's good then check out the
|
