Mitcham Stadium was a multi use sports stadium in

Mitcham, London Mitcham is an area within the London Borough of Merton in South London, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross. Originally a village in the county of Surrey, today it is mainly a residential suburb, and includes Mitcham Common. It ...

. Uses included

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

and

greyhound racing Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around an oval track. The sport originates from Hare coursing, coursing. Track racing uses an artificial lure (usually a form of windsock) that travels ahead of th ...

. The stadium is not to be confused with the former Sandy Lane ground owned by Tooting and Mitcham FC, which was sited nearby.

Stadium

The stadium was simply called the Mitcham Stadium and was in use for twenty years, from 1935 until 1955. It had covered grandstands along both straights and one of the straights was slightly extended. The stadium had a large total capacity of 60,000 (mostly standing) and was owned by Sydney Parkes, a greyhound track owner. Following its closure, the stadium was replaced by housing in 1955 and the site is now occupied by Ormerod Gardens and Fowler Road. The West Grandstand was purchased in 1955 by

Leyton Orient F.C. Leyton Orient Football Club, commonly referred to as Orient, is a professional association football club based in Leyton, Waltham Forest, London, England. The team compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. ...

and the whole structure dismantled and reconstructed at their

Brisbane Road BetWright Stadium, traditionally known as Brisbane Road and originally known as Osborne Road, is a football stadium in Leyton, East London, England. It has been the home ground of Leyton Orient since 1937, before which it was the home of amat ...

ground, where it remains today.

Rugby League

It was home to the Streatham and Mitcham R.L.F.C. from 1935 to 1937.

Greyhound Racing

Some greyhound racing took place during 1936 and 1937. The track was a short lived independent (unaffiliated to a governing body). The racing ended after the owner Sydney Parker was refused a racing licence.

Other uses

The grass infield was also used for

Hurling Hurling (, ') is an outdoor Team sport, team game of ancient Gaelic culture, Gaelic Irish origin, played by men and women. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goa ...

and

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

matches.

Fulham F.C. Fulham Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Fulham, West London, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of English football league system, English football. They have played home games at Craven ...

were in advanced negotiations to relocate to the stadium in 1938, but the outbreak of World War II meant this never materialised.

References

{{English greyhound tracks Defunct greyhound racing venues in the United Kingdom Defunct sports venues in London Defunct greyhound racing venues in London Defunct rugby league venues in England Greyhound racing in London