Principality Stadium
Rugby
Champions Cup Final
Cardiff
Score:
49
/ 60
Overview
In David Lynch’s 1986 film Blue Velvet, college student turned amateur sleuth Jeffrey Beaumont says to his fellow severed ear origin enthusiast, Sandy Williams:
‘Man, I like Heineken! You like Heineken?’
On Champions Cup final day, the Principality Stadium is the Jeffrey Beaumont of sporting venues.
Heineken may no longer be the tournament’s title sponsor, but, as a ‘Premium Partner’, they have ensured that, if you so much as think about another beverage whilst at the game, a gang of hired thugs will come to roll you up into a carpet and throw your weighted-down corpse into the Taff.
When it comes to this flavourless beer, I tend to agree with Blue Velvet’s psychopathic antagonist, Frank Booth:
'Heineken? Fuck that shit!'
That makes it difficult to provide an objective assessment of the Principality’s bar facilities, given that they have been so comprehensively taken over by the Netherlands’ most overrated export. On Wales match days, you have options. But the lager is apparently Cruzcampo, so they’re not necessarily better options. A future review will provide a fairer assessment of the catering.
What can be stated as an empirically verifiable truth is that the Principality is a fantastic venue for the final of the world’s premier club rugby tournament.
Score Summaries
Atmosphere and Experience
Because of the Principality’s location in the heart of Cardiff, whole swathes of the city centre are overtaken by crowds in the build-up to and following the match. On Champions Cup final day, hordes of Bordeaux supporters marched together, furiously waving flags and chanting ‘Allez, allez UBB!’ at the top of their lungs. Meanwhile, clumps of Northampton supporters faced them down with their cries of ‘Shoe army!’ Inside and under lights, with the roof closed, the Principality feels like a truly vast space. Every jubilant cheer and exasperated sigh is amplified spectacularly. It feels like sport on an epic scale, perfect for the jeopardy and emotion of a major final.
Score: 9.5
Seats
I opted for one of the cheaper tickets for the final, paying £60 for a seat towards the rear of section L30 in the lower tier of the west stand. Being close to the back of the section meant my view was partially obscured by the middle tier above me. While this didn’t impede my ability to see the action on the field, it did mean I couldn’t see much of the middle or upper tiers of the stadium whilst seated. This did detract somewhat from my ability to take in the scale of the ground and the atmosphere. It wasn’t possible to see the big screens, but there were TVs fixed to the ceiling at regular intervals for replays and reviews. But £60 felt like reasonable value for money for a lower-cost seat at a game of this magnitude, particularly given that I was right on the halfway line. Seat size and legroom were standard for a large stadium, i.e. enough but certainly not generous.
Score: 7.5
Catering
As mentioned above, bars had been taken over by Heineken, providing little in the way of variety or choice. Food options were standard stadium fare of burgers, chips, etc. at predictably extortionate prices.
Score: 6
Facilities
Plentiful and acceptable
Score: 8
Getting There
While it is a little chaotic and you are effectively herded to the gates by police and stewards, the central location of the stadium makes it incredibly easy to get to compared to the other home nations’ grounds.
Score: 9
Getting Away
As stated, you’re right in the middle of the city so you’re disgorged into streets lined with bars and restaurants. You can walk to the station in just a few minutes. It almost couldn’t be easier, except you are likely to have to queue for a long time to get on a train or a bus.
Score: 9