Holiday Park was a
football ground and
greyhound racing stadium in
Durham Durham most commonly refers to:
*Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham
*County Durham, an English county
* Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States
*Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...
in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. It was the home ground of
Durham City between 1923 and 1939.
History
Holiday Park opened in 1923 when Durham City left their
Kepier Haughs ground. The club brought the wooden seated stand from the previous ground, which remained the only spectator facility at Holiday Park during the club's spell in
the Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...
. The first League match at the ground was played on 1 September 1923, with 4,000 spectators watching a 0–0 draw with
Rochdale
Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...
The ground's record attendance of 7,182 was set soon afterwards for an FA Cup qualifying match against
West Stanley
South Moor is a village in County Durham, in England. It is located to the south-west of Stanley on the northern slope of the Craghead valley. It is a well-developed village, yet still semi-rural, containing a main street (Park Road) of around ...
on 17 September 1923.
[Paul Smith & Shirley Smith (2005) ''The Ultimate Directory of English & Scottish Football League Grounds Second Edition 1888–2005'', Yore Publications, p66, ]
Durham were voted out of the Football League in 1928, and the last Football League match was played at Holiday Park on 5 May 1928, when 5,000 spectators saw Durham beat
Crewe Alexandra
Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...
5–1. In 1937 a new 2,000 capacity stand was built as the ground was adapted for greyhound racing. This involved reducing the size of the pitch, and ultimately caused Durham City to fold in 1938.
[ The ground was subsequently expanded as it continued to be used for greyhound racing. It was later demolished, with the site used by the electricity board.][
]
Greyhound racing
Independent (unaffiliated to a governing body) greyhound racing took place at Holiday Park from 23 October 1937 with the ground undergoing improvements including a new 2,000 capacity stand.
References
{{English greyhound tracks
Defunct football venues in England
Durham City A.F.C.
Defunct greyhound racing venues in the United Kingdom
Buildings and structures in Durham, England
Sports venues completed in 1923
English Football League venues
Sports venues in County Durham
1923 establishments in England