Gelligaled Park

Gelligaled Park sits on Tyntyla Road in Ystrad. The Rhondda Sports Centre, opened in 1975 and refurbished in 2008, stands as the main modern building on the site. While the park includes a skatepark and a bowling green laid out in 1931, the rugby pitch remains the focal point for Ystrad Rhondda RFC, a club founded in 1884 that has called this place home since the 1920s.

There is no official capacity figure listed for the ground. The surface is natural grass, standard for Welsh rugby at this level. The club reached the WRU Swalec Plate Final in 2015, winning the competition, and contested the WRU Championship Cup Final in 2023 against Pontypool RFC. They also secured the Mid District Cup Final victory in 2023 at this venue. A historic representative match for the Borough of Rhondda was played here in 1958.

The park is managed by the Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council, which allocated funds to lay out the park in 1925. Recent attention turned to a footbridge connecting Pontrhondda Avenue, which closed due to structural damage during the 2023-2024 season. The site also contains a children’s play area and the Gelligaled Bowling Club. The ground lacks a former sponsored name, remaining consistently known as Gelligaled Park. A public lido opened on the site in 1934. The venue hosts matches for the WRU Championship, though specific attendance records are not recorded in available sources.