The Athletic Ground, also known as Aberdare Stadium and the Ynys Stadium, was a mixed sports venue in Aberdare,

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, which was predominantly used for football. It was the home of Aberdare Athletic, who were members of the

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engl ...

between 1921 and 1927. For a single season (1908–1909) it was the home of short-lived pioneer

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

team, Aberdare.

History

The ground was opened in 1893 as the home of Aberdare Town, who later became Aberdare Athletic.Paul Smith & Shirley Smith (2005) ''The Ultimate Directory of English & Scottish Football League Grounds Second Edition 1888–2005'', Yore Publications, p17, On 1 January 1908 the Athletic Ground the venue of the first

international involving a team from outside the British Isles when

played

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as part of the 1907–08 tour, with Wales winning 9–8. The match attracted approximately 15,000 fans By 1920 the ground was still quite basic, with a narrow grandstand on the southern touchline and a cycle track around the pitch. With Aberdare attempting to gain entry to the Football League, the stand was rebuilt, the cycle track removed, and banking installed at each end of the pitch. The following year saw the ground's record attendance of 22,584 set for a schoolboy international between Wales and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

on 14 May. In the same year Aberdare were elected to the Football League, and the first League match was played at the ground on 27 August 1921, with Aberdare and

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drawing 0–0 in front of 9,722 spectators. In 1927 Aberdare were voted out of the Football League.

Greyhound racing

The greyhound racing at Ynys Stadium started on Boxing Day 1932. The stadium was east of Aberdare, south of the Cwmbach Road and directly south of the railway track. The stadium was independent (unaffiliated to a governing body) and the exact date that the greyhound racing ended is unknown but it was still active in 1950 after being included in the betting licence lists.

References

{{Welsh greyhound tracks Aberdare Athletic F.C. Defunct football venues in Wales Defunct rugby league venues in Wales Sports venues completed in 1893 1893 establishments in Wales English Football League venues Aberdare Defunct greyhound racing venues in the United Kingdom Greyhound racing in Wales