UK Stadiums: Rodney Parade, Newport, Wales
Rodney Parade in Newport, South Wales, is the home of Newport County A.F.C. and rugby union side Dragons RFC. For football matches the ground has a capacity for 7,850 spectators, about 850 lower than for rugby games. It has been the home of Newport County since 2012.
Rodney Parade has been the venue for several international rugby union games in its history, hosting six full internationals between 1884 and 1912. Newport RFC beat the mighty New Zealand All Blacks here, too, in 1963.
Stadium Stands
There are two covered stands along each side of the playing area. The Candleston Stand (West) with a seated upper tier and standing lower tier and the Bisley Stand (East) which is all-seater.
The North Terrace has uncovered standing while the South End has a large video screen and 222 seats reserved for away fans.
Early History
The ground is one of the oldest stadiums in British football. Indeed, the stadium has a claim to be the third-oldest sports venue in the Football League, after the Racecourse Ground and Preston North End's Deepdale.
It was the first ground in Wales to install floodlights, with Newport RFC playing Cardiff RFC in a floodlit rugby game way back in 1879.
The stadium opened in 1877. Its owners Newport Athletic Club had athletic, cricket, rugby and tennis teams who all used the ground.
The Club: Newport County
Founded in 1912, Newport County joined the Southern League before becoming a founding member of the Football League Third Division in 1920. After losing out on re-election in 1931, they returned a year later and won the Third Division South in 1938-39, earning promotion after World War II, though they were relegated soon after in 1947. Another relegation followed in 1962. Under manager Len Ashurst (1939-2021), the former Sunderland defender, they won promotion from the Fourth Division and also lifted the Welsh Cup in 1979-80, reaching the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup quarter-finals the next year, losing 3-2 to Carl Zeiss Jena. Financial troubles in the 1980s led to double relegation and the club's closure in 1989.
After reforming, the now non-league club competed in the Hellenic League in 1989-90, the Southern League Midland Division and the Conference South. The club returned to the Football League after 25 years, winning an all-Welsh Conference National play-off final in 2013 2-0 against Wrexham at Wembley under the management of former Spurs' star Justin Edinburgh.
Newport County are nicknamed The Exiles for good reason. They have played at several grounds in the area including Somerton Park and Newport Stadium before arriving at Rodney Parade in 2012.
Players & Managers
Besides Len Ashurst and Justin Edinburgh other notable managers of the football club include Jimmy Scoular and later Colin Addison who engineered "the great escape" as County avoided relegation with a 1-0 win at home to Workington in the last game of the 1976-1977 season. Former England international defender Terry Butcher had a less than successful few months in charge in 2015.
Players who have starred in the amber and black include John Aldridge (who went on to star for Liverpool), prolific strike partner Tommy Tynan, who scored 66 goals in 183 goals for the team between 1978 and 1983. Hometown boy Chris Lilygreen is Newport County AFC's leading all time goalscorer with 93 league and cup goals since the club reformed in 1989.
Former Stoke City and WBA manager, Tony Pulis, now back in fashion as the 'father of the set-piece' played over 70 times for The Exiles between 1984 and 1986. Leeds United goalkeeper Karl Darlow played 8 games for the club on loan in 2012.
Club Miscellaneous
Celebrity supporters of Newport County include actor Michael Sheen who was born in Newport and played manager Brian Clough in The Damned United (2009), based on the book by David Peace.
The club mascot is Spytty the Dog.
Major Honours
Domestic Competitions
League Third Division South (level 3) Champions: 1938-39
Fourth Division (level 4) Promoted: 1979-80
Conference Premier (level 5) Play-off winners: 2013
Conference South (level 6) Champions: 2009-10
Southern League Midland Division Champions: 1994-95
Hellenic League Champions: 1989-90
FA Trophy Runners-up: 2011-12
Welsh Cup Winners: 1979-80
FAW Premier Cup Winners: 2007-08
Accessibility
Newport County AFC has a limited number of spaces for wheelchair dependent supporters and their personal assistant in stands at Rodney Parade.
Designated areas for wheelchair dependent home supporters are located on the North Terrace - 4 spaces. There is a designated area for wheelchair dependent away supporters located in the South Stand - 4 spaces (PA seated).
Access - Getting There
Newport Station is a short walk from the ground, just 15 minutes or less across the River Usk on Newport Bridge or Newport City Footbridge. The station has services to London Paddington, Bath Spa, Bristol Temple Meads, Birmingham New Street, Cardiff Central, Cheltenham Spa, Derby, Nottingham, Portsmouth, Taunton and Weston-super-Mare.
By bus
Buses 9C, 42 and 43 stop opposite the ground. North of the ground are more options at the Clarence Place stop on Caerleon Road including the 5, 6, 8A, 8C, 9A, 9C, 20, 21, 25A, 25C, 42, 43, 73, 74 and X60 buses.
Address: Rodney Road, Newport, NP19 0UU
Nearby Hotels
If you wish to stay in Newport in South Wales there are several options. The Mercure Newport is recommended as is the ibis Budget Newport.
See here for a complete listing of hotel accommodation in Newport Wales.
More UK Stadiums
Kirklees Stadium (John Smith's Stadium)
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