Talbot Athletic Ground geograph-4129798-by-Clint-Mann

The Talbot Athletic Ground is a sports stadium located in central

Port Talbot Port Talbot (, ) is a town and community (Wales), community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, situated on the east side of Swansea Bay, approximately from Swansea. The Port Talbot Steelworks covers a large area of land which d ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, with a maximum capacity of 8,000. The ground is home to Welsh

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

team

Aberavon RFC Aberavon Rugby Club () is a rugby union club located in the Welsh town of Port Talbot, though the club's name refers to the older settlement of Aberavon which lies on the western side of the town. The club was founded in 1876 as Afan Football ...

, and the Wales women's national team.

History

Originally called the Central Athletic Ground in the 1900s, the venue then owned by the Margam Estate played host to various sports including football, tennis, hockey, running, quoits and on one occasion a horse race. Aberavon RFC was granted exclusive use of the ground in 1913 - although it was sectioned off into allotments to help the war effort the following year. Officially re-opened in December 1921, the renamed Talbot Athletic Ground became a

barrage balloon A barrage balloon is a type of airborne barrage, a large uncrewed tethered balloon used to defend ground targets against aircraft attack, by raising aloft steel cables which pose a severe risk of collision with hostile aircraft, making the atta ...

site during the Second World War. In March 1946, the ground attracted its record crowd, 19,000, for a match between Aberavon and a

New Zealand Army The New Zealand Army (, ) is the principal Army, land warfare force of New Zealand, a component of the New Zealand Defence Force alongside the Royal New Zealand Navy and the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Formed in 1845, as the New Zealand Mil ...

team, "The Kiwis". The club became absolute owners of the ground in 1952, in a deal negotiated by Alderman Llewellyn Heycock, and various improvements and extensions were built in the 1950s, 1970s and 1980s. Although exclusively a

venue for most of its existence, the Talbot Athletic Ground also hosted some matches played by the final Welsh professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

side of the 20th century,

South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...

, in 1996.. The stadium has also hosted continental football matches. Afan Lido FC played the home leg of their

Uefa Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

1995/96, preliminary round, 1st leg tie against RAF Jelgava at the ground.

External links

World stadia: Talbot Athletic Ground

Notes

{{Reflist Rugby union in Neath Port Talbot Buildings and structures in Port Talbot Rugby league stadiums in Wales Rugby union stadiums in Wales Tourist attractions in Neath Port Talbot Stadiums in Wales