Wimbledon Stadium
 |
|
| Location |
Wimbledon, London, SW17 England |
|---|---|
| Owned by | Greyhound Racing Association |
| Operated by | Greyhound Racing Association |
| Date opened | 1928 |
| Race type | Greyhound racing |
| Official website | |
Wimbledon Stadium, also known as Wimbledon Greyhound Stadium is a greyhound racing track located in Wimbledon in southwest London, England.
It also hosts and other small circuit motor racing events and until 2005 hosted motorcycle speedway. The stadium has hosted the English Greyhound Derby every year since 1985.
The site will be closed in March 2017 and AFC Wimbledon are going to turn it into a football stadium and flats. The club is due to be playing at the redeveloped stadium in the summer of 2019.
The facilities include a brick fronted grandstand seating 8,000, executive suites, several bars and catering facilities, including a large waiter-service restaurant. The stadium is surrounded by a large open-air car park.
The greyhound stadium was constructed east of the River Wandle on a section of land that was difficult to build on due to the fact that it was marsh land and was prone to flooding. The only buildings near this plot of land were a chamois leather mills, a large sewage works and the Plough public house. Slightly to the east was Summerstown Road which held the only housing in the immediate area.
The difficult plot did not deter South London Greyhound Racecourses Ltd who went ahead with plans to build a large stadium ready for 1928. However financial difficulties halted the project until a consortium headed by Bill 'WJ' Cearns whose firm had been responsible for the construction of the stadium stepped in with a sufficient funds to save the project.
The opening night was on 19 May 1928 with the first race being won by a greyhound called Ballindura trained by Harry Leader. The Burhill kennels in Walton-on-Thames would become renowned within the industry housing the hounds for Wimbledon and were initially used by trainers Stanley Biss, Harry Leader and Ken Appleton. Paddy McEllistrim a Norfolk farmer and breeder of greyhounds and Sidney Orton would soon join the training kennels soon after.
Wimbledon was the first track to introduce weighing scales in 1929 at their kennels so that the racing public could be issued with the greyhounds weights before racing. The same year Harry Leader returned to Ireland and was replaced by Sidney Orton. New events called the Puppy Derby, International, Wimbledon Gold Cup and Wimbledon Spring Stakes were all inaugurated.
...
Wikipedia