Clapton Stadium
| Millfields Road | |
| Location | Clapton, London, England |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51°33′30″N 0°02′37″W / 51.5582°N 0.0435°WCoordinates: 51°33′30″N 0°02′37″W / 51.5582°N 0.0435°W |
| Record attendance | 37,615 (football) |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Renovated | 1927–28 |
| Closed | 1974 |
| Tenants | |
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Clapton Orient (1896–1930) Greyhound racing (1928–1974) |
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The Clapton Stadium, also known as Millfields Road, was a football ground and greyhound stadium in the Lower Clapton area of London.
The stadium was originally named Whittles Athletic Ground and was mostly used for whippet racing. It was built on top of an old fireworks manufactory on the north side of Millfields Road.
In 1896 Clapton Orient moved to the site from Pond Land Bridge, after which it became known as Millfields Road. The football club began redeveloping the stadium, with large embankments built around the pitch using slag from an adjacent power station.
Clapton Orient were elected to the Second Division of the Football League in 1905, and the first Football League was played at the ground on 9 September 1905, with Orient beating Hull City 1–0 in front of 3,000 spectators. In 1906 the first covered spectator facility was provided, when a 2,000-seat grandstand was built. This stand was sold to Wimbledon to use at their Plough Lane ground in 1923, and was replaced by a 3,000-seat stand.
Orient set their record League attendance at the ground on 16 March 1929 when 37,615 saw them lose 3–2 to Tottenham Hotspur. However, the club were in financial trouble at the end of the 1920s and were forced to leave the ground, moving to the Lea Bridge Stadium. Their last match at the ground was a 4–1 win over Brighton on 3 May 1930 with 8,763 in attendance.
In 1927 the Clapton Stadium Syndicate became joint tenants, and major alterations were made to the ground to allow for greyhound racing, costing over £80,000. An oval track was installed around the football pitch, with covered concrete terracing laid on the three sides away from the main stand. The new layout was designed by Owen Williams, and the ground became London's fourth greyhound track, staging its first meeting on 7 April 1928.
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