Residents in Cardiff are weighing up renting out their homes for a lucrative pre-Christmas payday when Anthony Joshua takes on Tyson Fury at the Principality Stadium on December 11. The fight, officially announced on Thursday after weeks of speculation and a last-minute switch from New York's Madison Square Garden, has already led to almost every city centre hotel being booked out, with remaining rooms priced at around £2,500 for the night.
With more than 80,000 boxing fans expected to pour into the city, the lack of hotel accommodation is anticipated to push some residents to list their properties on Airbnb. A two-bedroom rental in Cardiff is currently advertised at £3,000 a night, while a six-bedroom house is listed for £7,250.
Residents weigh up renting homes
Residents on Mark Street in Riverside, a diverse inner-city suburb close to the stadium, are relaxed about the event, which is expected to start between 1am and 2am to cater for American broadcasters, though the official start time has not been confirmed. Nev White said: "The only difference with this is that it's at 2am but my partner works in hospitality anyway so that doesn't matter too much." He added that he thought it would be well managed and could be a massive payday for locals in the run-up to Christmas.
Lesley Edwards said she thought she would be asleep by the time the fight got underway. "So much goes on at the stadium and the noise or anything doesn't interfere with us too much," she said, adding that foot traffic was usually as bad as it gets.
Concerns over anti-social behaviour
Another resident on the street expressed concern about trouble with boxing fans. "The event doesn't bother me but I do think it tends to be boxing and football fans that bring violence so there might be a rise in anti-social behaviour," he said, noting that it was good for Cardiff's economy and tourism. He also worried it would put shoppers off coming into town on a busy Friday night close to Christmas, and said he had already had three groups wanting to change their Christmas party dates.
A local resident who did not want to be named said such events were the price of living centrally, with parking and anti-social behaviour being downsides. Asked about the late start, she said it would depend on how organised the council were, adding: "It's hard to know until it actually happens."
