The Queens Park Football Ground was a

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 ...

ground located at the end of Nelson Street in the Queens Park area of

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

on the north side of the

River Great Ouse The River Great Ouse () is a river in England, the longest of several British rivers called "Ouse". From Syresham in Northamptonshire, the Great Ouse flows through Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk to drain into the Wa ...

Football

The ground hosted Bedford Town F.C also known as Bedford Eagles from about 1910 until 1982.

Greyhound racing

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 ...

started during 1975 following the construction of a track around the perimeter of the football pitch. Bedford Town Eagles required a financial boost and the introduction of greyhound racing had the desired effect because in 1979 it brought in an extra income of £10,000 as compared to the £4,000 football income. The greyhound racing was independent (not affiliated to the sports governing body the National Greyhound Racing Club) and was known as a flapping track which was the nickname given to independent tracks.

Closure

The lease to the football team was not renewed by ground owner Charles Wells in 1982, which resulted in both the football and greyhound racing coming to an end. Warehouse facilities were erected on the site before being taken over by an extension to the Wells & Youngs Brewery.

References

{{English greyhound tracks Defunct greyhound racing venues in the United Kingdom Defunct football venues in England Sport in Bedford Sports venues in Bedfordshire Bedford Town F.C.