The tree-lined stroll along the banks of the Taff from Cardiff Castle ranks among the finest approaches to any cricket ground, a credible rival to Adelaide. It also allows time to reminisce on how things used to be, when we could still call the place Sophia Gardens.

Affection collides with reality here, for Glamorgan’s old home was nothing if not ramshackle — a horseshoe of random, low-rise structures and an open side that lent it the air of a public park. The pavilion was ugly, crumbling and eventually unworthy of the glory its county periodically bestowed.

Since the last such heady year, the 1997 County Championship triumph with a set-up that included such latter-day England figures as Hugh Morris, Duncan Fletcher and David Morgan, the transformation has been immense. Glamorgan may now have its weakest team in decades but it has a 21st-century ground to match the burgeoning city behind it.

The metamorphosis of Cardiff can be traced directly to the birth of another venue, the Millennium Stadium, ten years ago. This is now an event city and the constant waves of visitors impose tourist demands. It can feel like a city straining to catch up with itself. Right now, for instance, Cardiff is an obstacle course in more ways than one. Physically, its centre is a building site as the latest shopping leviathan is rushed to completion, closing pavements and roads around it. More profound limitations can be found when you try to book a hotel room.

A pleasant man at one of the four-star joints in town initially quoted me £99, then realised he had the wrong week. “Sorry, it’s £250 a night during the Ashes Test,” he said. And that’s if you can find a bed — despite some recent openings, Cardiff still has only 4,000 hotel rooms.

The Visitor Centre, which confirms that most will be “double or even triple price” for big events, houses an Ashes exhibition. Not that you would know it — nothing, outside the building or within it, directs to a room of photos and memorabilia. It is a half-hearted gesture, out of keeping with the momentous nature of becoming the newest Test match venue.

Glamorgan promise a very different mood come Wednesday. If you arrive at the neatly integrated rail and bus station, look around for an Ashes Ambassador — 50 of them will be positioned at key points in the city, apparently well-trained to direct strangers to the ground and answer questions on facilities. This is innovative stuff, and very welcome if operated efficiently.

Car parking could be expensive unless you have a pre-booked spot in Sophia Gardens itself – within the city, you can expect to pay upwards of £3 an hour. Console yourself, though, with that riverside walk to a ground that, for all its modernity, retains the quaintness of bowls greens and tennis courts at one end. A very English setting, albeit in Wales.

Inside, once settled on the blue, green or yellow tip-up seats, prepare for the contrast of overt commercialism. Everything is very visibly sponsored, from stands to media centre. Even a cake company has crept in as a “commercial partner”.

At least there is an inoffensive name for the Really Welsh pavilion, easy on the eye with its timber façade and antique-style clock. On the evidence of a reconnaissance trip to a Twenty20 game with the ground barely a third full, there is good space behind the stands for spectator flow that is bound to be tested this week. Worryingly, queues for beer were long even at this game but extra bars and staff will presumably be deployed. So too, one must hope, will food outlets to add to the depressing T20 choice of burgers or Indian takeaway.

The SWALEC Stadium could not have chosen to graduate under more pressure. The crowds that descend this week will be expectant, excited and demanding. At least it has the backing of a city now well-rehearsed in such matters.