Poolstock 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. Tr ...

and speedway stadium on Park Street in Poolstock,

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the 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 north-east and Warrington ...

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...

Origins

The stadium was constructed in 1932 on a plot of land on Cromwell's Ditch, west of Park Street and Baker Street and east of Poolstock Brook.

Opening

The stadium situated on a ten-acre site opened on 9 March 1932.

Greyhound racing

The racing was independent (not affiliated to the sports governing body 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 ...

). Five dog races were held on Saturday nights at 7.30pm on a track that had grass straights and sanded bends. Race distances were 314, 525 and 750 yards behind an 'Inside Sumner' hare system.

Speedway

Speedway took place from 1947 to 1960.

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957). Starting their career as a duo in t ...

made a personal appearance at a meeting in 1947.

Closure

Planning permission for 130 homes to be built was given to John Maunders Construction Ltd in early 1973. Racing finally stopped on 28 February 1973 and the track was demolished. The site today is an extension of the housing on Baker Street.

References

{{Motorcycle speedway tracks Defunct greyhound racing venues in the United Kingdom Defunct speedway venues in England Sports venues in Greater Manchester Sport in Wigan Buildings and structures in Wigan