Professional rugby union and English league football almost never share a pitch. Rodney Parade does both. The ground on the east bank of the River Usk in Newport is home to Dragons RFC, one of Wales’ four regional rugby sides, and to Newport County, who play in the EFL — a groundshare that has run since 2012 and is now locked in on a ten-year lease signed in July 2024.
It opened in 1877 and is the third-oldest sports venue in use in the Football League, behind only the Racecourse Ground and Deepdale, which puts it firmly among the oldest stadiums in the world still in use. It also has a decent claim on floodlight history: Newport RFC played Cardiff RFC here under lights in October 1879, the first ground in Wales to install them.
Key Stats
| Opened | 1877 |
| Location | Rodney Road, Newport, Wales (NP19 0UU) |
| Capacity | 8,700 for rugby (7,850 for football) |
| Tenants | Dragons RFC (2003–present); Newport County AFC (2012–present) |
| Sport | Rugby union and football |
| Surface | Hybrid grass |
| Record attendance | 31,000 — Newport RFC v South Africa, 10 January 1952 |
| Football record | 9,836 — Newport County v Tottenham Hotspur, FA Cup fourth round, 2018 |
From Tredegar’s Land to a Rugby Fortress
Newport Athletic Club was founded in 1875 and two years later secured the use of land at Rodney Parade from Godfrey Morgan, 1st Viscount Tredegar, for its cricket, tennis, rugby union and athletics sections. Newport RFC promptly went six seasons unbeaten, and were unbeaten again in 1891–92 and 1922–23. Monmouthshire County Cricket Club played here from 1901 to 1934, and the ground staged Wales internationals against England, France and Scotland. Both the 1924 All Blacks and the 1960 Springboks were pushed close by Newport before winning narrowly.
The cricket ground on the south side was demolished in 1993 and Maindee primary school built on the site, with Newport Cricket Club moving to the Newport International Sports Village. Regional rugby arrived on 1 April 2003, when the Newport Gwent Dragons were formed and began sharing the ground with Newport RFC. A 15,000-capacity redevelopment was announced in 2007 and consented in 2009; in the event only the east stand was delivered, opening in October 2011 as the Bisley Stand.
Two Codes, One Pitch
Newport County moved in from Newport Stadium in May 2012 on an initial three-year deal, making Rodney Parade a regular football venue for the first time in its history; a ten-year lease followed in February 2013. Sharing a pitch between two heavy-contact codes has not been simple. New drainage and irrigation went in during the summers of 2013 and 2014, yet County’s matches against Barnet in September 2016 and Morecambe that December were both abandoned at half-time with the pitch waterlogged, and the EFL intervened to find the cause.
The Welsh Rugby Union bought the ground in June 2017 and installed a hybrid grass surface. When scheduled maintenance was cancelled in summer 2020 because of the pandemic, the pitch deteriorated so badly that in March 2021 Newport County were allowed to move two home matches to Cardiff City Stadium and the Dragons shifted three to the Millennium Stadium. A full pitch and drainage rebuild finished in August 2021 — and Rodney Parade’s ground staff then won the EFL League Two Best Pitch award for both 2021–22 and 2022–23. In June 2023 a consortium led by Dragons chairman and former Just Eat chief executive David Buttress bought the site and the rugby team from the WRU.
Inside the Ground
Two covered stands run along the touchlines. The two-tier west stand has 1,996 seats in the upper tier, including 40 press seats, over a standing terrace below. The all-seated east stand holds 2,526, with 144 seats across 13 hospitality boxes and the television gantry — which points west, so broadcasts regularly catch the sun setting over Newport city centre. The North Terrace is uncovered standing; the South End houses changing rooms, a media centre, a video screen and a 222-seat away section. Total away allocation for football, including block F of the east stand, is 1,300, and temporary stands have occasionally been added for big FA Cup ties. A tented fanzone and a floodlit grass training area sit beyond the North Terrace, and Newport Squash Rackets Club keeps four courts on site.
The Memorial Gates
On the corner of Rodney and Grafton Roads stand the ground’s memorial gates, erected in 1923–24 to commemorate members of Newport Athletic Club killed in the First World War. The gates are steel, the piers Portland stone, and each pier carries a bronze panel inscribed with the names of the dead. In August 2020 they were given Grade II listed building status.
FAQ
Who plays at Rodney Parade?
Dragons RFC in rugby union and Newport County AFC in the English Football League. Newport RFC moved their regular fixtures to Newport Stadium in October 2021 but agreed to play two matches a season back at Rodney Parade.
How old is Rodney Parade?
It opened in 1877, after Newport Athletic Club secured the land from Viscount Tredegar. It is the third-oldest venue in use in the Football League, after the Racecourse Ground and Deepdale.
What is the capacity of Rodney Parade?
8,700 for rugby and 7,850 for football. The all-time record is 31,000, set when Newport RFC played South Africa on 10 January 1952; the football record is 9,836 against Tottenham Hotspur in the 2018 FA Cup.
Photo: COYB01 via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
1 thought on “Rodney Parade: Pro Rugby and EFL Football on One Pitch”