We must love our sport in Newport because our famous ‘black and amber’ Newport Gwent Dragons ,and Newport rugby and football teams all have pole position right in the City Centre at Rodney Parade. Of course both have had their ups and downs and if things are not going so well we can always talk about magic cup runs and the year we beat the All Blacks when nobody else did (1963, in case you’re wondering, and, yes, there are still thousands who claim ‘I was there’). Fed up with fishing balls out of the River Usk, our cricket team moved from Rodney Parade to the new International Sports Village which also has Dragon Park, Wales’ football academy, and the Wales National Velodrome, welcoming everyone from would-be Wiggos to our Olympic competitors themselves.
And if it’s sporting drama you are after then the last (extra) day of The Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor in 2010 takes some beating, with a famous victory for Europe over the USA. You might not get a run-out with the team at Rodney Parade but you can play the Twenty Ten course and share a locker room with those Ryder Cup greats. Our reputation for putting on a great show secured a NATO Conference at Celtic Manor – summits don’t come much bigger -so it’s no wonder there are plans for Wales’ International Convention Centre there.
It’s not all sport and business either, Newport has hosted Wales’ National Eisteddfod, Europe’s largest folk and arts festival, 3 times, and stages great events year round - the Newport Food festival is proving especially tasty.
Rodney Parade