Somerton Park was a football, greyhound racing 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 in Newport, South Wales.

Football

In April 1912 Newport County had been accepted to play in the Southern League for the 1912–13 season. Shortly afterwards, the site for the ground was obtained by the club's chairman Bert Moss. The stadium was nearly sold for housing in June 1919, but it was bought and transferred to a committee of employees from the John Lysaght's

steel works A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel. It may be an integrated steel works carrying out all steps of steelmaking from smelting iron ore to rolled product, but may also be a plant where steel semi-finis ...

. It remained the home of Newport County through many reformations until the club went bankrupt on 27 February 1989. County's 77 years at the stadium had brought many highs and lows, the most notable being the

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the mos ...

and Fourth Division promotion triumph in 1980 and the

European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...

quarter-final appearance in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

, but the final few years brought the trauma of two successive relegations which saw the club lose its Football League status after 68 years, and finally go out of business on 27 February 1989. County were members of the

Football Conference The National League (named Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons) is an association football league in England consisting of three divisions, the National League, National League North, and National League South. It was called the ...

that season but their bankruptcy saw them expelled from that league for being unable to fulfill their fixtures. The club was again reformed within four months and began the 1989–90 season as a Hellenic League side. The new club's first season was spent in

Moreton-in-Marsh Moreton-in-Marsh is a market town in the Evenlode Valley, within the Cotswolds district and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Gloucestershire, England. The town stands at the crossroads of the Fosse Way Roman road (now the A429) and the ...

, followed by two seasons at Somerton Park, the next two seasons were played in

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

before finally settling at the newly built

Newport Stadium Newport Stadium, also known as Spytty Park, is an association football, rugby and athletics stadium in Newport, South Wales. It is the home of Newport City Football Club, Newport RFC and Newport Harriers Athletic Club. It was previously also ...

for the 1994–95 season, where the club played their home matches until moving to

Rodney Parade Rodney Parade is a stadium in the city of Newport, South Wales, owned and operated by the Welsh Rugby Union. It is located on the east bank of the River Usk in Newport city centre. The ground is on Rodney Road, a short walk from the city's c ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

. By 1993 Somerton Park had been redeveloped as a housing estate. The stadium's record attendance was 24,268 for a

Football League Third Division South The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to ...

match between County and arch-rivals Cardiff City on 16 October 1937.

Speedway

The stadium was home to the

Newport Wasps Newport Wasps were a British motorcycle speedway team based in Newport, South Wales from 1964 to 2012. They were the 1999 Conference League champions. The Wasp logo incorporates the traditional black and amber colours of the City of Newport. ...

speedway team between 1964 and 1977, attracting some the biggest names in the sport. The tight track meant that turf had to be brought on to make the corner flag area for football matches and removed once the match had finished.

Greyhound racing

Origins

Following the success of the greyhound racing at

Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park ( cy, Parc yr Arfau Caerdydd), also known as The Arms Park, is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. It is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green. The Arms Park was host to the British ...

which opened in 1927, the Arms Park Greyhound Racing Company Limited decided to construct another track around the football pitch at Somerton Park. On 17 November 1932, the first greyhound meeting took place at the stadium. The track was one of fifty affiliated to the , National Greyhound Racing Society (NGRS) in 1932 and would run under

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 ...

. The same Arms Park greyhound trainers would also supply the greyhounds for the Somerton Park; the kennels of the trainers were based at nearby being kennelled at Cefn Mably. The principal event was the Monmouthshire Stakes and the circumference of the track was 384 yards with small straights of 60 yards but wide sweeping bends. Race distances were 450, 600 and 640 yards and there was a glass fronted enclosure above the grandstand for viewing the racing. The venue was popular and the management formed a close relationship with the football team for over thirty years. The twice-weekly meetings were held every Tuesday and Friday. During the early 1960s the venue began to experience lower attendances and by 1963 the decision was taken to close the track. An attendance of just 700 gathered to witness the final night's racing. The last race resulted in a no race when the traps opened too soon and the greyhounds charged around the track without the hare. Len Davies, secretary at Somerton Park, told a local newspaper: "Some of the best dogs in the country have raced at Somerton Park. Perhaps the best of them all was Antarctica, a white bitch which set a track 450 yards record in a Somerton Stakes heat in 1958.''

Competitions

* Monmouthshire Stakes

Football

Speedway

Greyhound racing

Origins

Competitions

Track records

References

See also