It's 20 years today since the retractable roof Principality Stadium hosted its first event and since then the home of Welsh rugby has had a huge £2.75bn economic impact.
The direct, indirect, and induced economic contribution of the 74,500-seater stadium in the centre of Cardiff is revealed in new independent research commissioned by its owners in the Welsh Rugby Union.
The research, undertaken by Econactive, shows that on average the stadium has supported around £135m of output and 2,500 full time equivalent jobs in Cardiff and Wales in each year since it hosted its first event on 26th June 1999 ‑ amounting to 50,275 person years of employment in total and £1.32bn of gross value added.
The third in a series of independent reports, spanning two decade, also estimates visitor spending has provided £1.95bn for the local economy, whilst producing a £55m increase on the average estimated yearly impact in the last financial year alone.
Jobs supported across the region were also up by over 1,000 on the 20 year average and the report also points out Principality Stadium supports around one in ten tourism jobs.
Its construction cost, half funded with backing from the Millennium Commission, was around £130m, which pales into insignificance, even accounting for inflation, with the near £1bn needed to finance Wembley Stadium.
It was built for Wales to host the 1999 Rugby World Cup.
Originally known as the Millennium Stadium, it was renamed the Principality Stadium in 2015 after its owners in the Welsh Rugby Union struck a 10 year naming rights deal with Principality Building Society.
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Chairman of the WRU Gareth Davies said: “Twenty years ago today, when Wales played in front of a part capacity crowd to pull of the first win over South Africa in the history of our game, we all knew we had a very special future ahead of us at our brand new and already iconic national ground "
“Our unique city centre location means a smaller footprint than most comparable stadia around the globe, so spectators are always in close proximity to the pitch and benefit from optimum sight lines wherever they are seated.
“This is one of the reasons we are ranked so highly in customer satisfaction terms by supporters who attend our events.
“We also have a fully retractable roof and adaptable playing surface and this versatility has attracted promoters and event owners from across the international music and sports industries.
"Today’s report highlights the extensive and impressive positive impact we have had on the both the city and the nation over the last 20 years, an impact we are all extremely proud of.”
The first economic report of the series, published in 2007, estimated the annual contribution of the stadium to be £105m a year, in 2013 that figure was said to have risen to £130m and the latest estimate is that £135m contribution is made on a yearly basis.
Key recommendations in the report for the stadium going forward include upgrading existing technology to enhance fan experience, a heritage centre on site, access to a top end hotel – which is a project already put in place by the WRU - and improving and supporting the surrounding travel infrastructure, particularly rail.
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Author of the report Dr Calvin Jones said: “The stadium has become a reliable and important generator of both economic impact and visitation to Cardiff and Wales
“It remains an important and consistent economic presence in the Cardiff Capital City region, is a critical element of the city’s visitor offer and positively impacts upon the city’s wider profile.
“Moreover, the role of the Stadium as a driver of Welsh exports – or more properly as an attractor of money into Wales – should not be under-estimated.
“Most stadia lever a largely local audience, whether club or international focused, with away/overseas audiences very rarely in the majority, even at global events such as the summer Olympics.
“Conversely in the Cardiff case both this and previous reports have found that the stadium consistently drives spectator spending that is largely non-Welsh in origin, adding real, net-additional income.”
He added: “But it will need the financial headroom to invest and respond to its competitive market in the future, especially as technology becomes more important to event experience.
"It is also recommended that further support be given to the Stadium in its ability to drive the Welsh Economy with consideration given to improving the supporting and surrounding infrastructure.”
In the six years since the last economic impact report was completed in 2013, the stadium has welcomed 4.14 million visitors to its events, with over 60% of those being international rugby fans and around 20% (720,000) at pop and rock concerts.
The report found that the stadium remains Wales’ top single site attraction by a significant margin and, despite retaining only around 15% of the revenue it brings to Cardiff itself, remains a long term profitable prospect.