Make it Happen! Building the Wales Millennium Stadium

Pat ThompsonBorn in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, in 1943, Pat Thompson left school at 16 to work on motorways before studying at Leeds College of Technology to obtain a Higher National Diploma in building. He then joined Shepherd of York in their Treforest office as a technical trainee to work on the construction of the Church Village Hospital. Later, Pat joined Minter London to serve as a site engineer and concrete supervisor for the construction of the foundations for the main block of the Heath Hospital in Cardiff.After 30 years in various management and directorship roles in the building industry in South Wales, Pat set up his own company, working for Sir Terry Matthews on the first stages of the Celtic Manor Hotel and Newbridge Networks offices in Newport. Pat's next move was to be Project Manager for South Glamorgan County Council, until his retirement in 2023 at the age of 80. During this time, he worked on many of Cardiff's most iconic projects, including the Millennium Stadium (later renamed the Principality Stadium in 2016). Such projects included overseeing the development of the Welsh National Tennis Centre, the infrastructure for the International Sports Village and for the 2012 Volvo Round the World Race, the construction of the Eastern Park and Ride at Pentwyn, the pedestrianisation of St Mary Street, bringing back the Pierhead Clock from Alabama in the United States to Cardiff, and the provision of new visitor facilities at Cardiff Castle.Without doubt, however, the Millennium Stadium was by far the most significant of his contributions to the development of the capital city. Today, the stadium, with its iconic retractable roof, is recognised as one of the most important multi-use stadiums in the world.