Powderhall Stadium

Powderhall Stadium
(originally Powderhall Grounds)

Speedway at Powderhall in 1982.
Location	North Edinburgh
Coordinates	55°58'00.9"N 3°11'37.1"W
Construction
Opened	1865
Renovated	1970 & 1987
Expanded	1927 greyhounds 1928 football
Closed	1995

Powderhall Stadium formerly the Powderhall Grounds was a greyhound racing track in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was located on Beaverhall Road, in the Broughton area of north Edinburgh, by the Water of Leith. The track closed in 1995 and the site is now a housing estate.

The Powderhall Grounds was built in 1869 and gained fame for being the place where Olympian Eric Liddell, portrayed in Chariots of Fire, trained in the 1920s. The stadium was converted for greyhound racing (opening on 3 August 1927) and football one year later, in 1928, when it hosted the original Edinburgh City football team.

When opened in 1927 the track had easy bends and long straights and over 10,000 attended the first meeting. The first race, the Leith Stakes was won by Eager Hands in 30.70 over 500 yards. The Greyhound Racing Association (GRA) acquired Powderhall becoming one of 19 GRA tracks at the time. The kennels were built on the west side of the stadium replacing an old football ground.

Major success was achieved in 1928 when Boher Ash trained by Tommy Johnston Sr. won the English Greyhound Derby, the first and only time a Scottish trained greyhound would win the sports premier event. The track situated below the 'Puddockie' as it was known locally (the Water of Leith) and a culvert ran under the track to allow the Puddockie to flow. The track circumference was 440 yards and facilities included a grandstand and two covered enclosures. The original hare was an outside 'bogie' and distances were 440, 500 and 700 yards but despite the culvert the track was prone to flooding. Edinburgh hosted four greyhound tracks, Stenhouse Stadium, Marine Gardens and a short lived independent track called Royal Gymnasium. The track introduced its own major event in 1933 and called it the Edinburgh Cup which saw early winners including Jesmond Cutlet, Wattle Bark and Dante II.

The venue was selected to host the Stewards Cup on several occasions and also hosted the BBC Television Trophy in 1964. In 1970 the stadium underwent renovation including a new 100 'Silver Hound' seated restaurant with a glass plated front to allow public viewing and bar areas increased to a total of seven. Bill Glennie was General Manager and Bill Mulley was Racing Manager replaced by Stuart Strachan in 1978 A heated blanket was constructed underneath the track to combat the Scottish winter and allow racing to go ahead during particularly cold spells.