Greenfield Stadium, Bradford
| Former names |
Greenfield Athletic Ground Greenfield Autodrome Yorkshire Trotting and Athletic Grounds |
|---|---|
| Location | Bradford |
| Opened | Before 1907 |
| Closed | 5 March 1969 |
| Tenants | |
|
Bradford Northern Bradford Panthers | |
Greenfield Stadium, also known as Greenfield Athletic Ground,[1] Greenfield Autodrome[2] and the Yorkshire Trotting and Athletic Grounds[1] was a sports venue in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The venue was the first and former home ground of Bradford Northern Rugby League Football Club, before later becoming a greyhound stadium and speedway track. It was situated adjacent to School Street, off Cutler Heights Lane in Dudley Hill, Bradford and in 1907, consisted of a six acre field enclosed by a pear-shaped athletic and trotting track.[1]
Sports
Rugby League
In 1907, the newly formed Bradford Northern rented the ground for £8 from Whitaker's Brewery, who also agreed to sponsor the club. It became Northern's first permanent home and the club set up its headquarters at the adjacent Greenfield Hotel. Bradford's first match there was against Huddersfield on 7 September 1907 and was watched by around 7,000 spectators. The club gained a significant scalp later that year when they beat the New Zealand touring side.[3]
Northern spent a total of £302 on a grandstand, fencing and the pitch[1] even though they only spent one season at Greenfield. They vacated the ground after a vote at their AGM in June 1908, whence they moved to Birch Lane and then onto their current home Odsal Stadium. With Northern's departure, the ground reverted to sole usage as a running and trotting track and by the 1920s was known as the Yorkshire Trotting and Athletic Grounds.[1]
Greyhound Racing
In 1926, the venue was converted to a greyhound racing stadium, one of the first in the UK, opening in October of that year. Affiliated to the National Greyhound Racing Club, it hosted races of between 310 and 700 yards.[4]
By now the facilities were much more developed than they had been in early days. There was a main stand made up of covered terracing on the School Street side, opposite the starting gate. There was also covered terracing along the back straight on the Cutler Heights side. At one end was a huge tote board but no terracing and at the other end, a concourse with betting and a club house overlooking the dog track.[5]
Greyhound racing continued throughout the following decades right up until the stadium's closure.
Speedway
In 1961, a 320 yards (290 metres) speedway track was laid inside the dog track and the city's speedway team, Bradford Panthers, relocated to Greenfield from Odsal Stadium. The first meeting was opened by famous speedway promoter Johnnie Hoskins. Success was short lived and the last meeting at Greenfield Stadium was a double header against Sheffield and Leicester on Tuesday 9 October 1962. The Panthers folded soon after.[5]
Closure
The stadium was closed for business in March 1969[4] and sold for industrial warehousing.[1] The last sporting event was a greyhound meeting on 5 March, attended by 4,790.[6]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Delaney 1991, p. 44.
- ↑ "Bradford Greenfield". defunctspeedway.co.uk. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
- ↑ Priestley, Mike (25 November 2006). "Highs and lows of city sport". Telegraph & Argus. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
- 1 2 "Greenfield Greyhound Stadium". greyhoundderby.com. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
- 1 2 Bamford & Jarvis 2001.
- ↑ Greenhalf, Jim (13 February 2012). "Up and down era for city sports fans". Telegraph & Argus. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
Bibliography
- Bamford, R.; Jarvis, J. (2001). Homes of British Speedway. The History Press. ISBN 0-7524-2210-3.
- Delaney, Trevor (1991). The Grounds Of Rugby League. Keighley: Trevor R. Delaney. ISBN 0-9509-9822-2.
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