Stanley Greyhound Stadium (Liverpool)
| Location | Liverpool |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 53°24'46.4"N 2°55'35.4"W |
| Opened | 1927 |
| Closed | 1961 |
| Tenants | |
| Greyhound racing | |
Stanley Greyhound Stadium (Liverpool) was a greyhound racing track in east Liverpool. It is not to be confused with Stanley Greyhound Stadium in County Durham also known as Murray Park.
In 1927 a race developed between two companies to construct the first greyhound stadium in Liverpool. The race was won by the Liverpool Greyhound Club Ltd (LGC) when they opened Breck Park Stadium in April 1927. The other company the Greyhound Racing Association had chosen a site on a former brick works and clay pit for their track that would be known as the Stanley Greyhound Stadium and it opened just four months later. The Stanley track was south of Prescot Road and north of Edge Lane in the Old Swan area of Liverpool and ran parallel to the railway line.
The opening night was on 17 August 1927 and the GRA wasted no time in upsetting their rival track by posting national advertisements warning potential stadium investors. Their claims were that they had sole rights of greyhounds chasing electric hares and this upset the Breck Park and Elland Road Greyhound Stadium management so much that they took the GRA to court over the notices.
The circumference of the track was a large 516 yards and it provided a stern stamina test for a greyhound. There were 160 resident kennels on site that served both Stanley and later sister track Seaforth Greyhound Stadium.
One of the first significant events taking place was the Westmorland Cup; this was a competition for hurdlers from the Stanley track with the winner taking part in Northern Zone final. The first two in turn would then participate in the Champion Hurdle (or the Grand National as it is known today) at White City in London against the Southern zone qualifiers.
The first season of racing ended in October 1927 and the track went into the winter break with plans to reopen during Easter 1928. However, during the break the GRA sold the stadium to the Electric Hare Company. The directors were Jimmy Shand, Tom Wilson and John Bilsland and they moved their entire greyhound operation from the Southend Stadium in Southend-on-Sea (greyhounds included) by train to take over Stanley after leaving Southend due to high rent demands.
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