Central Park Stadium
| Full name | Central Park Stadium |
|---|---|
| Location |
 Sittingbourne, Kent |
| Coordinates | Coordinates: 51°20′54″N 0°45′33″E / 51.34824°N 0.75926°E |
| Owner | Cearn Sports |
| Operator | Cearn Sports |
| Capacity | 6000 (2000 seats) |
| Surface | Grass with greyhound track |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1990 |
| Opened | 1990 |
| Tenants | |
| Greyhound racing & speedway | |
Central Park Stadium is a greyhound racing track, and speedway track and former football stadium located in Murston, Sittingbourne, Kent, England. Greyhound racing takes place every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday evening.
The stadium was built to a capacity of approximately 6000, with 2000 seats available in the Main Stand, two end terraces and a large covered terrace opposite the Main Stand. There are also four private suites, a trackside restaurant, three bars and a fast food cafeteria.
Sittingbourne FC played at the Bull Ground in the town centre until 1990 when they sold the site for £4.5 million and built a new state of the art stadium on the outskirts of the town named Central Park Stadium. However, overspending on the new ground caused the club financial difficulties and they were forced to sell the ground to the local council and lease it back. The ground was eventually leased to a company which ran greyhound racing events, who allowed the football club to sign a seven-year lease (a requirement of the Southern League). The club found it hard to guarantee the availability of the stadium due to the racing, however, and agreed to start playing their games on part of the complex where they used to train. This was built in 2002 and named Bourne Park.
Sittingbourne opened on Tuesday 3 October 1995 and the new facilities included a track side restaurant, fast food outlets, three licensed bars and three private executive suites. The first ever race over 475 metres was won by Try My House for trainer Wayne Wilson. Wilson would also claim the first major win for the track when he won the 1995 Puppy Derby at Wimbledon Stadium with Corpo Election. The other trainers supplying runners on the opening night were Sonia Spiers, Derek Millen, Alison Ingram, Peter Galloway, Martin White, Ken Tester, Mick Mew & Tony Palmer.
Financial troubles surfaced again in 1996 and the track was forced to close and with no promoter available to run the stadium the future of the new venue was put into question. However during 1996 Roger Cearns re-opened the stadium; Cearns was the grandson of WJ 'Bill' Cearns the founder of Wimbledon Stadium way back in 1928. Cearns transformed the operation into a successful business and in the process negotiated a deal that brought the Trainers Championship to the track in 1998.
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