Wales’ economy should get a “big boost” from the much-anticipated boxing clash between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, business owners have said. The British heavyweights are set to fight on 11 December at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, with fans expected to travel to the Welsh capital from all corners of the globe.
A bar manager intends to order triple his usual amount of beer barrels, but some residents have expressed concern about the impact the fight will have on public services. Transport for Wales said it intended to put extra services on to deal with the influx of fans, as hotel prices for that weekend sky rocket due to increased demand. Chairman of Cardiff Night Forum Nick Newman said he was “absolutely delighted” by the announcement, as another “fantastic showpiece” is coming to the city.
He manages nine pubs, and said venue owners across the city would be planning, getting beer in the cellar and food in the fridges. Newman said he has “no concerns” about the scale of the event, with planning meetings set to take place in the months leading up.
He said they have agreed with Cardiff council and South Wales Police licensing that businesses can apply for an extended hours licence. “That means we can serve alcohol until 05:30, and then close the premises at 06:00,” he added. Newman said this would allow the city to “reset” for any workers in the city centre on Saturday morning.
He expects there to be a similar level of excitement to Joe Calzaghe’s fight against Mikkel Kessler in 2007, when more than 50,000 fans descended on what was then called the Millennium Stadium. “That’s great for the economy. That’s great for jobs. That’s great for the sort of feel-good factor around the city,” he added.
Twm Jones, assistant manager of On the River, a venue opposite the Principality Stadium, said the venue was “really excited” for the event. The bar opened on the first weekend of the Oasis tour, which kicked off in Cardiff, which gave him a sense of how busy the city can be when big events take place.
“We’ll probably be buying in triple the amount of barrels that we usually would,” he said.
He said he expected to have a couple of hundred people in the venue on fight night and Jones said they intend to stay open until “at least before the fight, and probably after as well”.
“It gets a bit rowdy but its all good fun,” he added.
But Sarah Hill, who lives close the Principality Stadium, disagrees and says she “doesn’t see the appeal” of the fight.
“Why are they doing it? I don’t really pay attention to boxing at all,” she added.
Hill said while Cardiff was no stranger to hosting big events, but added “every big event at the Principality Stadium is an inconvenience to the people that live here”.
“Rock concerts, rugby games. Any kind of sporting event is just a nightmare,” she added.
“The entire city shuts. So if you want to get from the train station to your house, you have to go out of your way just to get a taxi.”
She said taxis could “cost a fortune” on event days, due to surge pricing, and the late start time has also left her questioning how Cardiff’s infrastructure will cope, with the event feeling like “it’s just about money”.
“The trains only run so late so it’s just about selling as much booze before and after the event,” Hill added.
“If the start time is there to benefit the audience in the United States, why is it even here?”
Jack Gower moved to Cardiff this month for his university studies and said it had become a “big event city” in recent years.
“It’s good because any big event in the UK you think London or Manchester. It’s good for cities like Cardiff to get the publicity,” he added.
Jack said he is not much of a sport fan, but admits the event was likely to “impact everyone in some way”.
He added: “Especially for local bars and tourist places. Uni students moving in will probably be the biggest thing [boost for bars], and this will just boost the economy more for them.”
Dave Leyshon runs DTL Travel, an online travel business based in Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, and is selling tickets for the heavyweight clash costing between £450 and £12,000.
“I know it’s not a title fight but it’s two former heavyweight champions. It’s a fair price when you compare it to other major sporting events such as the football World Cup,” he said.
“That’s so important and I know some coach firms locally to me and also in west Wales will be running buses in case people fear there’ll be an issue with the trains,” he added.
Leyshon has called on TfW to “get the travel right” after the fight night rail service was criticised when Joshua fought in Cardiff in 2018. It has almost been 20 years since Joe Calzaghe defeated Kessler at the stadium. Former stadium manager, Gerry Toms, was in charge then, and said it was a “challenge” putting on a fight in the early hours, but staffing was key.” A lot of the planning is needed with the police, the rail network, the council, hoteliers, and the taxi services,” he said.”
It all has to be coordinated to provide the best possible service you can.” A 22:30 curfew was implemented that night to get the fans into the stadium early, ensuring they would not “descend on the stadium” just before the fight began.
“We still had a couple of fights in the stadium, which weren’t in the ring, but good stewarding can keep that calm and step in early to defuse it, ” he said.
Executive director of UKHospitality Cymru David Chapman said the fight was going to provide a “big boost” to Cardiff’s hospitality businesses, with demand for hotels in the city “incredibly high”.
He urged fans to be patient with hotel staff who are dealing with an influx of requests and enquiries.
Transport for Wales said it was working closely with the event organisers to provide “additional capacity into Cardiff” to help customers return home during early hours of the morning.
It added: “We’re now working on a provisional service plan and for all the other arrangements needed to host an event of this size in Cardiff.” We’ll release further information in due course.”
