The Boulevard (stadium)
The Boulevard in May 2006
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| Full name | The Boulevard |
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| Location | Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire |
| Coordinates | 53°44′22″N 0°22′9″W / 53.73944°N 0.36917°WCoordinates: 53°44′22″N 0°22′9″W / 53.73944°N 0.36917°W |
| Capacity | 10,500 |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1895 |
| Opened | 1895 |
| Closed | 2009 |
| Demolished | 2010 |
| Tenants | |
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Hull F.C. (1895–2002) Hull Vikings |
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The Boulevard was a multi-purpose stadium in Hull, England. The venue was saved from demolition and reopened on 25 October 2007 as the home of greyhound racing in the city. There were plans for it to be used as a community stadium hosting rugby league matches and speedway, but it eventually closed and was demolished in August 2010.
In the past the ground was used mostly for rugby league matches and was the home stadium of Hull F.C. before the opening of KC Stadium. The main entrance was on Airlie Street, giving rise to Hull FC's nickname as 'the Airlie Birds'. When it closed, the stadium's capacity was 10,500 people. The Boulevard also hosted four matches in various Rugby League World Cups, as well as tour matches between Hull and visiting nations such as Australia and New Zealand. The ground had a strong connection with the city's former fishing industry being not far from Hessle Road.
The stadium has also been used for football with Hull City A.F.C. using the ground at times for their home matches.
In 1970, British League Division Two speedway returned to Hull for the first time since 1949 and proved to be exceedingly popular with large crowds cheering on the Hull Vikings each Wednesday. Hull had the dubious distinction of being the very last league speedway team ever to appear at the famous West Ham Stadium, on 23 May 1972, when they beat the closing Hammers 40–38. Subsequent years saw their promotion to the first division and the inclusion of world champions Barry Briggs, Ivan Mauger and Egon Müller to ride for the team. Promotional changes, falling crowds and financial problems eventually saw the Vikings demise until their resurrection some years later at Hull's other rugby league and speedway stadium, Craven Park.
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