Cardiff City had originally been playing home fixtures at Sophia Gardens but the lack of facilities at the ground had prevented them from joining the Southern Football League.

To combat this, club founder Bartley Wilson secured a plot of land from Cardiff Corporation that had previously been used as a rubbish tip and construction of a new ground began in 1909.

Safety concerns led to the ground's capacity being drastically reduced and Cardiff Arms Park replacing the stadium as the preferred home venue for the national side.

The Welsh national side holds the record attendance for a match at Ninian Park; 62,634 fans watched a fixture against England on 17 October 1959.

The ground hosted its last match on 25 April 2009 against Ipswich Town and was demolished soon after, being replaced by the adjacent newly constructed Cardiff City Stadium.

The club was becoming increasingly popular with local people, but the facilities at Sophia Gardens were deemed inadequate for this growing support due to the lack of turnstiles or an enclosed pitch.

He declared that Ninian Park had "the making of the finest football ground in the country" and allowed Cardiff City to join the Southern League's Second Division.

[11] The new ground was officially opened at 5:00 pm on 1 September 1910 with a friendly against Aston Villa,[9] reigning champions of the Football League First Division, that attracted a crowd of around 7,000 people.

[16][17] In the early years at the stadium, the ground contained only one changing room and washing area, meaning home and away teams shared facilities.

[20] Following the resumption of league football after the First World War, the team's fourth-placed finish in the 1919–20 season raised enough income to eliminate the club's debts.

[21] Further improvements were implemented after this first season in The Football League; a roof was erected over the new Canton Stand, the spectator banks were raised and the pitch was relaid with sea-washed turf,[22] a fine variety of grass grown on the coast that is cleansed by tidal flow.

[26] The pitch at the ground would prove problematic for several seasons and the club eventually enlisted the help of seed specialists Suttons to improve the quality of the surface.

[6] Built by local company Connies & Meaden Limited, it was officially opened on 1 September 1928 before a league match against Burnley by the Lord Mayor of Cardiff, Arthur John Howell.

Boxing matches were soon held at Ninian Park with the first professional event in August 1931 featuring former British light-heavyweight champion Frank Moody.

[6] Prior to the return of The Football League after the war, Ninian Park hosted its first European opposition when Dynamo Moscow played Cardiff as part of a tour of the United Kingdom in 1945.

Cardiff, chosen for being deemed the leading club in Wales, suffered a heavy 10–1 defeat to the visiting side but did earn a substantial profit from ticket sales.

[42] Later that year, Connies & Meaden were employed again to construct a large roof over the rear section of the Popular Bank and to extend the stand the length of the pitch.

The side were drawn against Danish semi-professional team Esbjerg fB and the first European tie held at Ninian Park took place on 13 October for the second leg of the fixture.

After a goalless draw in the first leg, Peter King scored the only goal of the tie to secure a 1–0 aggregate victory for Cardiff in front of a crowd of around 9,000.

[46] As the club's fortunes declined during the 1960s crowd numbers fell, but during the 1972–73 season Cardiff spent £225,000 extending the main stand capacity by a further 4,500 seats under the stewardship of new chairman David Goldstone.

[49] Director Tony Clemo later complained that the restrictions were unduly harsh, stating "There was no common sense [...] the Grangetown Stand had to be demolished in 1978 when the council's safety officers said that if there was two feet of snow and an 80 mile an hour wind blowing, it would be unsafe.

FAW secretary Alun Evans alluded to the fact that matches between Belgium and the Home Nations were still deemed to be "sensitive" following the Heysel Stadium disaster in 1985.

[61] The increasingly dilapidated nature of the ground gained national attention following Cardiff's victory over Leeds United in the FA Cup in January 2002 due to crowd trouble after the match.

"[62] Plans for a new stadium to replace Ninian Park were in development for several years before Cardiff City officially submitted an application to local councils.

[68] After the final match, an online memorabilia auction was setup, with items such as goalposts, office furniture and supporters' seats being listed for sale.

[69] In July 2009, the gates of the Ninian Park ground were re-erected opposite the stadium site, though minus one of the bluebird logos which had gone missing following the final match.

[87] Cardiff-born boxer Jack Petersen fought at the ground on several occasions, including victories over Hein Müller and George Cook that attracted crowds of more than 40,000.

Pope John Paul II visited the city on 2 June 1982,[95] touring several locations, appearing at a National Youth Rally held at Ninian Park attended by 35,000 people.

[96] As part of his Rastaman Vibration Tour, reggae singer Bob Marley staged a concert at the ground on 19 June 1976 for the West Coast Rock Show.

[99] The ground holds the record for the highest attendance for a Welsh Cup match after 37,500 fans watched Cardiff defeat Swansea Town 3–2 in the 1956 final.