Temporary closure for stadium rooftop attraction

Wire and Sky said it had been "unable to agree a new commercial structure" to take over the operation

A major Cardiff attraction which allows people to climb, zip wire and abseil down the Principality Stadium has temporarily closed after the contract with the company running it ended.

Bookings cannot be made for the Scale the Stadium attraction with thrill-seekers unable to select a date for the experience or use vouchers previously bought.

Wire and Sky, the company running the experience, said it had been "unable to agree a new commercial structure" to take over the operation.

The Welsh Rugby Union said it was temporary and there would be "exciting news about a new partnership coming soon".

The attraction opened in April 2024 with people offered the chance to climb up the side of the famous landmark for £44, with the cost to also walk along the roof and abseil back down at £89.

In last year's WRU annual report the attraction was mentioned as part of the union's capital expenditure, highlighting "£3.9m for the construction and development of the Scale roof walk adventure experience".

But in an interview with BusinessLive in April, WRU chairman Richard Collier-Keywood said the attraction was underperforming and delivering "nowhere near the projections we had hoped for".

When asked if the operation could be sold to Wire and Sky, the chair reportedly said he was "open to doing any sort of deal that improves the current position and for me nothing is off the table".

Wire and Sky also run abseiling experiences at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London and at Anfield in Liverpool.

In a statement on Facebook at the end of July, the company said it and the Principality Stadium were "unable to agree a new commercial structure to take over the full commercial operation at Scale."

"It has been jointly agreed that the current technical service provision contract will be terminated whilst a new strategy is explored," it said.

In a statement the WRU insisted it would be open again soon.

It said: "After a bumper concert season at Principality Stadium a new solar panel installation is currently taking place which has meant its SCALE attraction has taken an extended hiatus.

"The rooftop adventure, which is located at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, has temporarily stopped booking customers, but exciting news about a new partnership is coming soon.

"The Welsh Rugby Union has confirmed it will form a new strategy for its SCALE attraction, which is in place and due to be announced in the coming weeks, after reaching mutual agreement with current facilitators Wire and Sky Ltd to discontinue their current business relationship."