Hundreds of thousands of fans have visited Cardiff for football events

Saturday's Manchester United-Arsenal final is due to be the last final to be staged at the Millennium Stadium while a new Wembley is built.

Marketing firm Cardiff Initiative said each final brought �15m to the city.

Cardiff council and Millennium Stadium staff are now working to ensure the loss of the events is minimised.

The Millennium Stadium has annually hosted the FA Cup final, the Community Shield, the Carling Cup final and three play-off finals as part of its deal with the FA, which is due to run out this year.

Rumours that it may host the 2006 FA Cup final because Wembley will not be ready in time have been denied.

In April, Cardiff also hosted the FA Cup semi-finals, which Cardiff Initiative said brought in �7m over one weekend.

The firm also said that 10% of people who attended an event in the city returned for a short break.

In addition to the economic gains, the events have also given Cardiff and the Millennium Stadium a worldwide profile, with the FA Cup final alone having an estimated global audience of 600 million.

Manager Paul Sergeant said the stadium was on the global map

Cardiff Initiative added that, in the last four years, there had been a 30% increase in the number of hotels, 25% rise in stores, 35% in bars and 20% in restaurants in Cardiff.

If at least some of this expansion is due to the football, the question of how to sustain it is now being addressed.

Cardiff Councillor Nigel Howells, the executive member for sport, said the authority was working to ensure there was no gap left in the city's marketing strategy.

"We always knew the FA Cup was going to go to Wembley once (the new stadium) was complete," he said.

"We have got an exciting 18 months ahead - we have recently had the announcement that the Heineken Cup will be coming to Cardiff and the Millennium Stadium next year and that is anticipated to bring around �30m into the local economy.

"On top of that, we have four internationals in the autumn and the three Six Nations rugby internationals in the springtime."

Millennium Stadium manager Paul Sergeant said the loss of the football had been factored into their event planning.

"What it [the football] has done for us is put us on the global map," he said.