Yarmouth Stadium is 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 ...
track located at
Caister-on-Sea
Caister-on-Sea, also known colloquially as Caister, is a large village and seaside resort in Norfolk, England. It is close to the large town of Great Yarmouth. At the 2001 census it had a population of 8,756 and 3,970 households, the populati ...
in the
Borough of Great Yarmouth
The Borough of Great Yarmouth is a local government district with borough status in Norfolk, England. It is named after its main town, Great Yarmouth. History
The borough was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, as a merg ...
and
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
county of
Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
. It is licensed by the
Greyhound Board of Great Britain
The Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) is the organisation that governs licensed greyhound racing in Great Britain. It does not govern independent tracks or Northern Irish tracks and therefore has no jurisdiction over them.
History
It was f ...
.
Greyhound Racing takes place every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday evening. Facilities include a modern designed 'Raceview Restaurant' seating 240, several executive suites, fast food facilities and a number of bars.
Speedway
Speedway arrived in 1948 running until 1961; Ernie Wedon became the manager of the speedway team called 'Yarmouth Bloaters' throughout this period.
Stock Car Racing
The stadium has continually run Stock Car racing since the 1960s and boasted its own team in the 1966 and 1971/2 team leagues. The 1966 team were nicknamed the Bloaters whilst the later outfit were known as the Greyhounds.
Greyhound Racing
Origins & Opening
In 1928 Len Franklin & Ernie Wedon, both professional gamblers in pre-war London visited the newly built
Clapton Stadium
The Clapton Stadium, also known as Millfields Road, was a football ground and greyhound racing stadium in the Lower Clapton area of London.
History
The stadium was originally named Whittles Athletic Ground and was mostly used for whippet racin ...
. Franklin became a regular at
Harringay Stadium
Harringay Stadium was a major greyhound racing and motorcycle speedway venue in Harringay, north London. It was built and opened in 1927 and closed in 1987.
Construction
Harringay Stadium was the third greyhound racing stadium to open in Br ...
,
Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to:
* Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England
** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066
* Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge
* Stamford Bridge (stadium), in L ...
and
White City Stadium
White City Stadium was a stadium located in White City, London, England. Built for the 1908 Summer Olympics, it hosted the finish of the first modern marathon and other sports like swimming, speedway, boxing, show jumping, athletics, stock car ...
and after investing in stocks and shares they invested in a new venture at Yarmouth. They purchased a field on the west side of the Yarmouth Road that contained a 'flapping' track; this track had opened on Good Friday 25 March 1932 with grass track speedway also held there after starting on 14 July. It was devoid of structures and on the opposite side of the road to the horse racing course.
Franklin & Wedon also leased the adjacent field to enable better access and applied for planning permission for a new stadium. Although the initial planning was refused a subsequent appeal to the ministry saw the decision overturned. Work began in 1939 and the stadium was ready for business by the spring of 1940.
[
The opening date for the new stadium was set for 11 May 1940 but on that same day the Germans invaded the ]Netherlands
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and Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
resulting in the evacuation of Yarmouth. The opening afternoon meeting still went ahead, as did several other meetings on a weekly basis until most of the staff were called up to serve in the war
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
. The stadium closed and it was taken over by the fire service.[
]
Post-war history
After the war Len Franklin and Ernie Wedon went into partnership with Clifford Yaxley forming the Norfolk Greyhound Racing Company and they were able to take advantage of the post war boom opening on Saturday 7 December 1946. The racing was over 500 yards and facilities included a restaurant in the main stand. Franklin was a steward and judge and when Racing Manager Ernie Wedon sold his share to buy Ipswich Stadium
Ipswich Stadium was a greyhound racing stadium situated in Ipswich, Suffolk.
Origins and Opening
In the early 1930s the site chosen for a new stadium was directly north east of where the River Orwell and River Gipping meet and north of the Lo ...
. Len Franklin then became Racing Manager.
The East Anglian Derby
The East Anglian derby is a sobriquet used to describe football matches held between Norwich City and Ipswich Town, the only fully professional football clubs in the neighbouring East Anglian counties of Norfolk and Suffolk respectively. In rece ...
was inaugurated at the track but this was an independent race (unlicensed) at the time because the track raced with no 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 ...
(NGRC) affiliation from 1939 until 1975.
The original field where the flapping track stood was sold and in 1958 would form part of the North Denes Airport, which later became a heliport serving as a private base for helicopters to the gas platforms in the North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
. After the sudden death of Yaxley the Franklin family took sole control of the stadium, Len was the Racing Manager, his son Stephen was the Kennel Manager and M J Franklin was the General Manager. Race days varied from Tuesday & Friday evenings to Monday, Wednesday & Saturday evenings over distances of 300, 500, 710 & 910 yards.[ In 1969 the stadium opened a new Raceview Grandstand Restaurant catering for 3,000 people.
In 1975 Yarmouth joined the NGRC permit scheme and in 1985 Dick Keable the Racing Manager celebrated forty years at the track (Keable had been a kennel lad at the track back in 1945). Two years later in 1987 Yarmouth became the first permit track to register a totalisator turnover of £1 million. Stephen Franklin became General Manager taking over from Len Franklin. In addition to the racing there was a Sunday market, stock car racing three times per week, bingo nights and an amusement arcade. Stephen Franklin's wife Pamela and children Simon and Justin all joined the business.
]
Recent History
Simon Franklin was appointed Racing Manager and then General Manager after Nigel Long became Racing Manager. Simon & Justin Franklin then brought in Nigel Bray as General Manager whilst they took control of other duties. One of which was overseeing the new £2.5 million grandstand built in 2006, the state of the art 250-seater restaurant and three executive boxes included a plaque naming the building the Len Franklin Grandstand in memory of the co-founder of the stadium. The track hosted the TV Trophy in 2007 & 2013 and the Trainers Championship in 2013. Trainers Mark Wallis and John Mullins joined Yarmouth after the closure of Walthamstow Stadium
Walthamstow Stadium was a greyhound racing track in the London Borough of Waltham Forest in east London.BBC News - Walthamstow race track to close' It was regarded as the leading greyhound racing stadium in Britain following the closure of W ...
via Harlow.
Track improvements costing £190,000 were completed in 2012 and Mark Wallis became Champion Trainer 2012 to 2014 as a Yarmouth handler. His 2012 English Greyhound Derby triumph with Blonde Snapper brought the ultimate prize to the track. Yarmouth also runs on the BAGS service overseen by Racing Manager Marcus Westgate who took over in 2012.
In 2018 the stadium signed a deal with ARC
ARC may refer to:
Business
* Aircraft Radio Corporation, a major avionics manufacturer from the 1920s to the '50s
* Airlines Reporting Corporation, an airline-owned company that provides ticket distribution, reporting, and settlement services
* ...
to race every Monday and Thursday evening.
Competitions
*East Anglian Derby
The East Anglian derby is a sobriquet used to describe football matches held between Norwich City and Ipswich Town, the only fully professional football clubs in the neighbouring East Anglian counties of Norfolk and Suffolk respectively. In rece ...
*George Ing St Leger
Track records
Current
Former
References
External links
Yarmouth Stadium
* Ipswich Stadium
Ipswich Stadium was a greyhound racing stadium situated in Ipswich, Suffolk.
Origins and Opening
In the early 1930s the site chosen for a new stadium was directly north east of where the River Orwell and River Gipping meet and north of the Lo ...
{{English greyhound tracks
Stock car racing venues
Greyhound racing venues in the United Kingdom
Sports venues in Norfolk
Sport in Great Yarmouth
Defunct speedway venues in England