Elland Road Greyhound Stadium
| Location | Leeds, West Yorkshire |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 53°46′30″N 1°34′30″W / 53.77500°N 1.57500°WCoordinates: 53°46′30″N 1°34′30″W / 53.77500°N 1.57500°W |
| Field size | 456 yards |
| Opened | 1927 |
| Closed | 1982 |
| Tenants | |
| Greyhound racing | |
Elland Road Greyhound Stadium also known as Leeds Greyhound Stadium was a greyhound racing stadium in Leeds, West Yorkshire.
The stadium is not to be confused with the football ground Elland Road or Fullerton Park.
Elland Road football stadium was built in 1897 and thirty years later in 1927 two stadiums were constructed on its west side. The first Fullerton Park was built directly next door to the football stadium on the north side of Elland Road and the second Elland Road Greyhound Stadium was constructed opposite Fullerton Park on the south side of Elland Road.
The stadium opened on Saturday 16 July 1927 and featured racing every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday evening with an additional Saturday matinee at 3.00pm. Races took place over 300, 500 and 750 yards on a circuit with a tight 400 yard circumference. Resident kennels within the stadium grounds numbered 120 and exercise grounds were situated adjacent to the stadium.
A bitter battle took place during 1927 between the Leeds Greyhound Association Ltd (LGA) owners of the Elland Road track and the Greyhound Racing Association (GRA) owners of Fullerton Park which had opened just three months later. The LGA took the GRA to court for false advertising following the public claim by the GRA that they had sole rights of greyhounds chasing electric hares and this upset other companies because it implied that they were the only company allowed to race greyhounds.
The GRA quickly realised that their greyhound stadium being so close to Elland Road stadium would not be able to monopolise trade in the city. This resulted in them closing Fullerton Park to greyhound racing and buying a stake in the LGA. The early 1930s brought about government legislation issues with the totalisator; it would have to be closed down on more than one occasion following questions over the legality of using the system. Despite the issues the track maintained a very healthy business and even introduced professional baseball before the start of the war. Mark Barker the Racing Manager and a Director at Leeds United died in 1943 following illness and the racing was held sporadically during the duration of the war.
Following the war business boomed in 1946 with the tote turnover being £1,167,103. The profits enabled the company to upgrade the facilities and Harold Richards was brought in as Racing Manager in the early 1950s. Two competitions were inaugurated; the Ebor Stakes was introduced in 1951 followed by the Yorkshire Two Year Old Produce in 1958.
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