Pontefract Greyhound Stadium
   HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - Pontefract Greyhound Stadium
OR:
Pontefract Greyhound Stadium on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

Pontefract Greyhound Stadium originally known as the Pontefract Willow Park Electric Hare Stadium was a
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 ...
stadium located on the north side of Baghill Lane in
Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the towns in the City of Wake ...
,
West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
.


Greyhound racing

Claude Firth, licensee of the Willow Park Hotel gained permission from the landlords to lease four acres of land. A greyhound track was constructed by Firth and his business partners J.W. Penty and Percy Smith. The stadium was located on an existing football ground. The racing was independent (not affiliated to the sports governing body the
National Greyhound Racing Club The National Greyhound Racing Club was an organisation that governed Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom. History The National Greyhound Racing Club (NGRC) was formed in 1928 and this body would be responsible for regulation, licensing and the r ...
). When opening the stadium was called the Pontefract Willow Park Electric Hare Stadium. A two-year lease was agreed with Carters Knottingley Brewery Co Ltd at £30 per year and racing started in 1938. After the war further leases were agreed and in January 1951 the site of the Willow Park track had a value of £2,135.


Closure

In January 1964 the Carters Brewery integrated with parent company B.Y.B. Ltd and they sold the Willow Park site, which led to an agreement with Tees Land Investment Co Ltd & the local council in approving private housing development. The last meeting was held on 28 June 1969.


References

{{English greyhound tracks Defunct greyhound racing venues in the United Kingdom