Sophia Gardens

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Sophia Gardens is a sporting venue on the west bank of the River Taff in Cardiff, a mile to the north of Cardiff Arms Park. It is named after Sophia Rawdon-Hastings, daughter of the 1st Marquess of Hastings and wife of the 3rd Marquess of Bute: her husband was involved in the development of Cardiff, and she was concerned to provide open space for recreation in the rapidly expanding city in the late 1800s. It is owned by Cardiff City Council.

Sophia Gardens is home to the Glamorgan County Cricket Club . The cricket club has played first-class cricket matches at Sophia Park since 1966, after moving away from Cardiff Arms Park. It acquired a 125-year lease of the ground in 1995, after the previous leaseholders, Cardiff Athletic Club, moved elsewhere.

It has hosted five one-day internationals the first in 1999, and is provisionally scheduled to hold its first Test match in The Ashes in 2009, subject to an ambitious and controversial expansion of the stadium being completed. This project will cost £9.3m and roughly half the funding (£4.5m) will come in the form of a council loan. This loan application is set to be approved tomorrow (14 Nov 06). The stadium must be completed by September 30 2008 if it is to host the Ashes Test in 2009. Today it was announced that the revamped stadium could host 7 Tests, 9 one day internationals and 2 world cup games up to 2028, injecting at least £50m into the local economy.[1] [2] in September 2006, chairman Paul Russell told BBC Sport that the county was actively considering selling naming rights to the ground,which it is hoped would bring in £210,000 per year.[3]

The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians relocated to Cardiff in 2006, following the sale of its previous premises in Nottingham. It is now run by its Secretary Andrew Hignell from the Archives Department of the Glamorgan County Cricket Club.