Cardiff prepares to tackle Grand Slam day

Mar 11 2008 by Steffan Rhys, Western Mail

CARDIFF is bracing itself for a 200,000-strong deluge of rugby fans on Saturday as Wales bid for their second Grand Slam in four years.

Police, bars and the council are all preparing this week for what will be their busiest day of the year, with each deploying extra staff to deal with the influx hoping to see Wales conquer France at the Millennium Stadium for the Six Nations Championship.

The city is likely to benefit to the tune of more than £20m as expectant crowds pack every pub and street corner from breakfast time onwards, leaving a £10,000 clean-up operation in their wake.

And it is expected there will be a big screen set up outdoors for the momentous event, although the exact location has not yet been decided.

On Wales’ last Grand Slam day in 2005, a screen was set up in the city’s civic centre – dubbed “Henson Hill” for the day – with a view to attracting 5,000 people.

In the event, on an unusually warm March day, around 20,000 turned up, with several climbing trees and buildings to catch a glimpse of the victory.

If a big screen is in place for Saturday’s clash, fans will need to dress up warmly, with the Met Office predicting showers and temperatures no higher than 8C.

Meanwhile, tickets for the deciding match were last night being snapped up online for hundreds of pounds, with one seller advertising the original price of a ticket at £60 but selling it for £325.

Chief Superintendent Josh Jones of South Wales Police, who will be leading the force’s operations inside the stadium on Saturday, said the game’s 5pm kick- off was a cause for concern.

“Cardiff is adept at dealing with major events, but a Grand Slam is special because of the sheer volume of people you get coming into the city – a conservative estimate is 200,000,” he said.

“But rugby supporters are generally people who come to town to enjoy the occasion and not for trouble.

“What we normally find is that people will have drunk too much and boisterous behaviour can become disorderly behaviour later in the evening.

“But when you think of the number of people involved, the number of those transgressing is very small.

“With a five o’clock kick-off people will have been drinking for a number of hours. With fans wanting to watch the preceding fixture (England v Ireland) as well, there is also likely to be a late surge for the ground and I urge people to leave early to avoid a rush to the stadium gates.”

South Wales Police will have 160 officers on duty on Saturday with 90 dedicated to public order and the rest dealing with wider issues like roads policing and domestic violence.

The force said there were few arrests during the Grand Slam of three years ago. But police are bracing themselves for an upsurge in domestic violence, which consistently sees higher levels during major sporting events. The force held a meeting after Wales’ victory over Scotland, when whisperings of a Grand Slam began to grow, and decided then to add a third public order team to the usual two that deal with match days.

Bars meanwhile are also gearing up for what will be by far their most lucrative day of the year.

Dave Hill, manager of Cardiff’s Lava Lounge in the city centre, said it would be the bar’s busiest day since it opened in 2004.

The bar will be opening early at 10am to serve alcohol and breakfast and is also setting up a bar outside to cope with the extra customers.

“We have put in our biggest drinks order for one single day,” said Mr Hill.

“Even with the five o’clock kick-off we expect people to arrive early and stay all day.

“We are drafting in extra staff from our bars in Swindon and Swansea.

“And we’ll have seven door staff working all day just to cope with the extra crowds.”

Bars, restaurants and hotels will be the main financial beneficiaries on Saturday, but research carried out for the Royal Bank of Scotland at the start of this year’s Six Nations Championship showed the Welsh economy was set to benefit to the tune of £67.8m from this year’s tournament, with each Millennium Stadium game generating £18.6m of direct visitor expenditure in the city.

But the Welsh team’s success means that this figure is likely to be considerably increased on a Grand Slam day.

The Welsh team’s ultimate Six Nations fixture against Ireland in 2005 saw the city deluged by fans who began turning up in the city centre’s pubs at 9am in order to get a seat, leading to drinks takings more than three times the usual amount for a Saturday.

All of Cathays Park will be reserved for the considerable number of coaches expected from all over Wales and other areas of the city will also serve as overflow for coaches if necessary.

In 2005, much of the allocated space for coaches was full by 8.30am. But there will be no extra park and ride facilities, said a council spokeswoman.