REGENERATION REACHES NEXT STAGE
The second stage of the Rodney Parade regeneration begins this week. Construction is set to begin on the new East Stand which will provide improved bar, hospitality and catering facilities as well as seating for over 2000 supporters and 13 corporate boxes.
The new state-of-the-art stand is due to be completed by the end of August and mark the next major step in the improvement of the matchday experience at Rodney Parade. Bar facilities will be much improved, with access right along the Stand, cutting down queuing time, as well as a new restaurant seating 300 and a new main bar with capacity for 200.
There is also a new gym facility for the team being built at the south end of the east stand (next to the current hospitality boxes) and as part of this development, the pitch will move 10 metres north.
With the construction of the new North Terrace which replaces the current Family Stand nearing completion, demolition of the Argus Terrace will begin on Wednesday, making the Dragons’ home game against Connacht on 6 January the Argus Terrace’s final match.
In the interim, Argus Terrace season ticket holders for both the Dragons and Newport RFC will move to the Hazell Terrace and ticketing details for the terrace behind the Family Stand will be confirmed soon.
Although supporters may have been disappointed by the lack of fanfare surrounding the final game with the Argus Terrace, this was unavoidable due to the nature of the build.
The development of the area behind the Family stand and building of the new stand are all part of one job and therefore the timelines for each section are quite fluid.
Because of the weather preventing progress on the terracing behind the Family Stand as is was too cold to pour concrete, work started on another part of the build so as to not fall behind on the overall project. This meant that the date of the Argus Terrace coming down was confirmed at short notice and the region wasn’t in a position to organise the sort of send-off the supporters would have liked.
The current incarnation of the Argus Terrace has been in place since 1987 and both the Dragons and Newport RFC are looking forward to being able to host their supporters in this fantastic new facility.
