Saracen Park or Ashfield Stadium, also known as Peugeot Ashfield Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a

stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Scotland. It is currently shared by

Ashfield F.C. Ashfield Football Club are a Scottish football (soccer), football club based in the Possilpark area of north Glasgow. The club compete in the and wear black and white hooped strips. Formed in 1886, they are based at Saracen Park, which they s ...

for

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 the Glasgow Tigers for

speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta *Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana Types of races and race cours ...

. It has also previously been a venue 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 ...

. The ground was originally opened for football in 1937.

History

opened Saracen Park for junior football in 1937, and have played at the ground since. Located in the

Possilpark Possilpark is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow, situated north of the River Clyde and centred around Saracen Street. The area developed around Saracen Foundry of Walter MacFarlane & Co., which was the main employer. In the wake of th ...

area of Glasgow, it was named after the adjacent

Saracen Foundry The Saracen Foundry, Possilpark, Glasgow c.1890 The Saracen Foundry was the better-known name for the Possilpark, Glasgow–based foundry company W MacFarlane & Co. Ltd, founded and owned by Walter MacFarlane. MacFarlane's was the most importan ...

Speedway

The first speedway team to race at Ashfield Stadium – as it is known for racing purposes – were the

Ashfield Giants Ashfield Giants were a motorcycle speedway team based at Saracen Park, Glasgow, Scotland between 1949 and 1953. The track operated on an open licence in 1953 and were reformed for a one of season during the 2000 Speedway Conference League. Hist ...

between 1949 and 1953. After the Giants went out of business, the track was adapted for

, which was staged at Ashfield from 1956 until 1998. Speedway returned to the stadium in 1999 when the Glasgow Tigers relocated from

Shawfield Stadium Shawfield Stadium is a closed greyhound racing, football and speedway venue in the Shawfield district of the town of Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located close to the boundary with Glasgow. Originally a football ground, Shawfield w ...

Greyhound racing

Promoter Jimmy Donald Sr. opened the greyhound track on 21 April 1956. It was known as Ashfield Stadium and was regarded as one of the premier independent (unlicensed) tracks in Scotland with major events called the Ashfield St Leger, Scottish Cup and Anniversary Stakes in addition to the Ashfield Derby which offered substantial prize money. The circumference was 400 yards consisting of distances of 270, 450, 640 and 930 yards. The management declined an invite from 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 ...

in 1989. The track was laid upon the old speedway track before reverting to speedway in 1999.

References

{{Motorcycle speedway tracks Sports venues in Glasgow Football venues in Glasgow Speedway venues in Scotland Defunct greyhound racing venues in the United Kingdom Ashfield F.C. Sports venues completed in 1937 Greyhound racing in Scotland 1937 establishments in Scotland