Woodhouse Lane 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 ...

and

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 ...

stadium, located in

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

Origins

The stadium was constructed and opened in 1928, in only the second year of oval track greyhound racing in the United Kingdom. The stadium known as the Woodhouse Lane Stadium was located on the east side of Woodhouse Lane where it met Beech Hill Lane and the south side of Baytree Road. It was built on open farmland next door to the Springfield Park football ground.

Opening

Racing started on 17 March 1928 and racing was independent (unaffiliated to a governing body). Wigan Borough F.C. resigned from the football league during the 1931–32 season. Shortly after Borough went out of business and a new club,

Wigan Athletic F.C. Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

, was formed and continued to play their home games at Springfield Park. After lengthy negotiations, Wigan Athletic purchased the ground from the owners of the Woodhouse Lane Stadium for £2,800 with the proviso that greyhound racing never take place at Springfield Park. The independent racing lasted for 33 years.

Speedway

Speedway took place at the stadium in 1952 and 1953.

Closure

The final meeting took place during April 1961 and became an athletics arena.

References

{{Motorcycle speedway tracks Demolished buildings and structures in England Defunct greyhound racing venues in the United Kingdom Defunct speedway venues in England Sports venues completed in 1928