Loomer Road Stadium
| Location | Chesterton, Staffordshire |
|---|---|
| Opened | early 1970s |
Loomer Road Stadium is a sports stadium situated in Chesterton, Staffordshire. The building has considerable parking facilities, covered terracing and a bar with a view of the track. It currently has a capacity of 5,000.
Since 1912 the land south of Chesterton and north of Newcastle-under-Lyme was dominated by the imposing Holditch colliery. The colliery was responsible for mining coal and ironstone creating a tangled web of railway lines, pits and an unused 18th century canal. In the early 1970s a speedway and greyhound track was constructed giving the area the first speedway and greyhound racing since the closures of Hanley Greyhound Stadium and Cobridge Stadium. The colliery was experiencing heavy investment at the same time which also incentivised the construction.
In 1973 the Chesterton Potters speedway was founded by stadium owner Russell Bragg and they rode the first season before changing their name to the Stoke Potters.
Today, it hosts mainly motorcycle speedway and is the home stadium of two speedway teams; the Stoke Potters and the Stoke Spitfires, who race on Saturdays and Wednesdays respectively.
It also hosts occasional and meetings and various events such as firework displays and occasional shows.
Russell Bragg entered into an agreement with John Bryant to start greyhound racing and the first meeting took place on 11 April 1975. There were forty racing kennels on site and the track was known as Chesterton Greyhound Stadium. The track had a small circumference and consisted of 400 and 525 yards before it was switched in February 1979 to the more traditional practice of being located on the outside of the speedway circuit. Unusually for a greyhound track it had been on the inside of the speedway which clearly limited the type of greyhound that could manoeuvre around the tight bends. The switch included a new 'Outside Sumner' hare system. The new distances were initially measured at 259, 455 and 658 metres with the total cost of the alterations being £15,000.
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