Newport Gwent Dragons’ Heineken Cup match against London Wasps on Sunday has been moved to Cardiff City Stadium.
The pitch had been frozen, and in spite of the valiant efforts of the ground staff though this week, it is unlikely to be playable on Sunday so the decision has been made to give supporters as much notice as possible of the switch.
European regulations stipulate that the game must be played this weekend, and as such it had been arranged with Cardiff City Football Club that if the fixture could not be played at Rodney Parade, it would instead take place at the Cardiff City Stadium.
To assist with the cost of travel, a return bus service to the Cardiff City Stadium will be provided by Newport Transport, leaving from Rodney Parade. Supporters will be able to park free of charge at Rodney Parade before catching the bus to Cardiff. Busses will run from 11am with the Ticket Office, Clubhouse Bar and Club Shop open from 9am. Parking is limited and supporters are advised to get down here early.
Bus travel is available at £2 per head and to offset these costs, match tickets have been slashed to just £10 for adults, students and concessions, with under-16s going free. For stand tickets this presents a saving of £13 per ticket including transport to and from Rodney Parade.
SEASON TICKETS AND TICKETS ALREADY PURCHASED REMAIN VALID, and if you have already purchased tickets, you will be entitled to a refund of the difference, so please contact the Rodney Parade ticket office on 01633 674990.
“This has been a difficult week here,” said Rodney Parade Stadium Manager Mark Jones. “Everything that was possible was done to make the pitch playable but with night-time temperatures of -9 and day time temperatures struggling to get above freezing, without under soil heating, it was just not possible to make the pitch safe for the players of both teams.
“We recognise that we are asking a lot of our supporters to come down to Cardiff, but we hope that the reduction in ticket prices will offset our dedicated fans’ increased travel costs.
“We’d like to thank all the supporters who contacted us offering assistance this week. Had it been a question of clearing snow, your help would have been fantastic. Sadly with the freezing temperatures, no amount of work and volunteers would have got this game on at Rodney Parade.”
