Lonsdale Park also known as West Cumberland Stadium was a stadium, now demolished, used for

greyhound racing Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around a track. There are two forms of greyhound racing, track racing (normally around an oval track) and coursing; the latter is now banned in most countries. Tra ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

and for

motorcycle racing Motorcycle racing (also called moto racing and motorbike racing) is the motorcycle sport of racing motorcycles. Major varieties include motorcycle road racing and off-road racing, both either on circuits or open courses, and track racing. Ot ...

Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. The town was historically in Cumberland. At the 2011 census it had a population of 25,207. Loca ...

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

Origins

Lonsdale Park was constructed as a football ground in an area known as Cloffocks on the south bank of the River Derwent and on the north side of Black Path. It was used

Workington A.F.C. Workington Association Football Club is an English football club based in Workington, Cumbria. The club competes in the Northern Premier League Division One North West, the eighth tier of English football. The club plays its home matches at Bo ...

until they moved to their new Borough Park ground built next door on the west side of Lonsdale Park.

Greyhound racing

Racing began in 1933 but came under new management in 1942. The racing was independent (unaffiliated to a governing body). In the 1960s racing was on Monday and Saturday nights at 7.00pm over distances of 320 and 500 yards. The track circumference was a large 440 yards and an 'Inside Sumner' hare system was used. The principal race was the Workington Derby and amenities included a members club and snack bar. By the late 1980s the distances were 320, 530 and 760 yards, there were kennels on site for 50 greyhounds and a car park for 200 vehicles. Facilities included three bars and a covered stand.

Speedway

Speedway took place at the stadium 1931-1932 and again from 1937-1938.

Closure

The greyhound racing ended in 1999 when Cumbrian engineer Ernie Little pulled out of the track, having spent £38,000 in just two years in an attempt to keep the venue going. His wife Jan would apply for a trainer's license elsewhere. The site was later demolished.

Future

On 30 October 2018, the former Lonsdale Park site was sold to Allerdale Borough Council for £210,000. The council acquired the site to build the proposed new Workington Community Stadium.

References

{{English greyhound tracks Defunct greyhound racing venues in the United Kingdom Defunct football venues in England Defunct speedway venues in England