Swindon Stadium
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| Full name | Swindon Greyhound Stadium, The Abbey Greyhound Stadium or The Abbey Stadium |
|---|---|
| Location | Lady Lane, Blunsdon, Swindon, England |
| Coordinates | 51°36′25″N 1°47′31″W / 51.607°N 1.792°W |
| Capacity | 2,000 [1] |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1947 |
| Opened | 1949 |
| Tenants | |
| |
Swindon Stadium, also known as the Abbey Greyhound Stadium, is a Greyhound Board of Great Britain regulated greyhound racing track and speedway track located in Blunsdon, Swindon, England.[2]
The stadium is home to the Swindon Robins, who compete in the Elite League. Matinée races take place on Monday and Friday with evening race meetings on Wednesday and Saturday nights. The greyhound track, with a circumference of 463 metres, is one of the largest in the United Kingdom; the speedway track has a circumference of 363 meters.[3]
Competitions
Two annual greyhound competitions are held at the venue: The Arc and the British Bred Produce Stakes.
Opening
The stadium opened to the public on 23 July 1949 when it hosted the Swindon Robins speedway team; greyhound racing followed three years later on 1 November 1952.[4] Swindon had already experienced two short-lived greyhound track venues, in the village of Wroughton and near the town centre in Edinburgh Street, but both had disappeared by the mid-thirties.[5] The stadium occupied a rural setting south of Lady Lane and was named after the Blunsdon Abbey estate in Blunsdon St Andrew, a Victorian estate which had seen its main house destroyed by fire in 1904.
History
The track initially raced as an independent with 2,000 people attending on 1 November 1952 to watch a greyhound called Don’t Care win a 324 yard race in a time of 19.02 secs at odds of 6-1. [6] The stadium came into the hands of the Bristol Greyhound Racing Association, owners of Oxford and Eastville (Bristol) stadiums at that time. This led to the track becoming part of the National Greyhound Racing Club during April 1968. The Silver Plume competition arrived the same year as the track's principal event. [7] Another independent track to the northwest of Swindon opened during the sixties at Common Platt but had little effect on the business of its larger neighbour.[8]
In 1983 ADT (British Car Auctions) purchased the Abbey Stadium and used its large car park as a base for their sales. Other competitions at the track were the Grand National of the West, Pride of the West and the Jubilee Stakes.[9] In 1997 the BS Group sold their Eastville stadium and bought Swindon from ADT. The entire Bristol operation including the racing office, bookmakers, trainers, the Western Two Year Old Produce Stakes and the BAGS contract transferred to Swindon.[10]
The BS Group became Stadia UK and then Gaming International, and after the closure of Walthamstow stadium in 2008 the track hosted the Arc competition.
Redevelopment
The owners, Gaming International, were granted outline planning permission in 2008 to build houses on part of the site and replace the stadium. After several revisions, outline permission was again granted in 2015, for up to 100 houses and a care home.[11] Work began in November 2016 with construction of the stadium due to complete in June 2017.[12]
Track records
| Distance | Greyhound | Time | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 275m | Fearless Swift | 16.28 | 19.08.1985 |
| 280m | Mollifrend Tom | 16.19 | 05.10.1988 |
| 285m | Jimmy Lollie | 15.90 | 30.09.2009 |
| 460m | Pindi Express | 27.33 | 11.02.2004 |
| 476m | Money Matters | 27.89 | 03.08.1988 |
| 480m | Johnnys Star | 28.18 | 05.07.2013 |
| 509m | Sawpit Sensation | 29.43 | 01.05.2013 |
| 685m | Shelbourne Star | 40.94 | 11.02.2004 |
| 695m | Jet Streamer | 45.31 | 06.11.1987 |
| 737m | Wise Maldini | 44.86 | 20.09.2003 |
| 943m | Tartan Sarah | 58.52 | 23.07.1984 |
| 476mH | Gizmo Pasha | 29.40 | 13.06.1990 |
| 480mH | Greenacre George | 28.93 | 03.09.2002 |
References
- ^ http://ukgreyhoundracing.com/swindon-greyhound-stadium
- ^ "Track Search". Greyhound Board of Great Britain. Retrieved 24 December 2011.
- ^ http://www.speedwaystar.net/Swindon-Robins-t8/
- ^ Barnes, Julia (1988). Daily Mirror Greyhound Fact File, page 134. Ringpress Books. ISBN 0-948955-15-5.
- ^ "Greyhound Racing for Wroughton, Saturday 19 July". Swindon Advertiser & North Wilts Chronicle. 1930.
- ^ Barnes, Julia (1988). Daily Mirror Greyhound Fact File, page 134. Ringpress Books. ISBN 0-948955-15-5.
- ^ Genders, Roy (1981). The Encyclopedia of Greyhound Racing, page 81. Pelham Books Ltd. ISBN 07207-1106-1.
- ^ Furby, R (1968). Independent Greyhound Racing, page 61. New Dominion House.
- ^ Genders, Roy (1990). NGRC book of Greyhound Racing, page 59. Pelham Books Ltd. ISBN 0-7207-1804-X.
- ^ Hobbs, Jonathan (2002). Greyhound Annual 2003, page 143. Raceform. ISBN 1-904317-07-3.
- ^ "S/OUT/14/0833 - Abbey Stadium Lady Lane Swindon SN2 4DN". Swindon Borough Council - Planning. 2 April 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ Humphreys, Chris (11 November 2016). "Work starts on new £5m stadium for Swindon". Swindon Advertiser. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ "Track records". Greyhound Data.