The City Ground (also known as Milton Road) was a
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
stadium and greyhound racing track in
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
, England. It was the home of
Cambridge City Football Club.
History
The City Ground was Cambridge City's home ground from 29 April 1922 until 27 April 2013.
[ It was located in the Chesterton area of the city, approximately 1 km north of the city centre.
In the first game at the ground, Cambridge Town, as the club were then named, played Merton Town. The ground was one of the largest outside the Football League and was estimated to have a capacity in excess of 20,000, although the highest recorded attendance was 12,058 against ]Leytonstone
Leytonstone ( ) is an area in East London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It adjoins Wanstead to the north-east, Forest Gate to the south-east, Stratford to the south-west, Leyton to the west, and Walthamstow to the nor ...
in 1961. From the late 1960s the ground was used for greyhound racing,[ and crowds were often higher than for football matches. However, dwindling gates and crippling debts led to part of the site being sold for development in 1985.] The ground was demolished and a much smaller but functional ground was built in its place, approximately a pitch's length north-west of the former ground, with the remainder of the site being developed for offices. The club had a bar and lounge which was open on match days and available for hire to the general public.
The ground itself had a capacity of 2,300. The Main Stand, together with its extension (built to house the Cambridgeshire FA) seated approximately 500 people. Opposite the Main Stand, a narrow terrace provided covered terracing for approximately 220 supporters. The middle section was popularly, though not officially, known as "The Shed" and attracted City's more vocal supporters. At each end of the ground, the School End and the Westbrook End were narrow and had no cover or formal terracing.
The ground, which was sold by a previous board of directors for £2.2 million despite professional estimates of the site's value being around £12 million. The landlords, Isle of Man
The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...
company Ross River, which is linked to former City Director and property developer Brian York, gave City a lease to stay at Milton Road only until 31 May 2007, but the club fought this. After several months a High Court ruling stated that "the club is entitled to rescind the ale of the land- having been induced to make it by a fraudulent misrepresentation for which Ross River are responsible". The consequence of this is that City were able to stay at the City Ground until 2013 and would share in 50% of future profits from development of the site.
In April 2008 the City Ground failed an FA ground inspection. As a consequence Cambridge City were automatically demoted from the Conference South to the Southern League Premier Division
The Southern League is a football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from East Anglia, the South and Midlands of England, and South Wales. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and e ...
, despite the club appealing against the decision.
The club were involved in negotiations to move to a new Community Stadium on the edge of the city, which they could potentially share with local football rivals Cambridge United and/or Cambridge RUFC, but in late 2012, it was announced that club president Len Satchell had purchased 35 acres of land in Sawston
Sawston is a large village in Cambridgeshire in England, situated on the River Cam about south of Cambridge with a population of 7,271.
The village has historical roots dating back to medieval times and has landmarks such as Sawston Hall, a ...
, with a view to building a 3,000 capacity stadium, along with community facilities for Sawston and the surrounding villages. As of April 2013, this project was going through public consultation.
A three-year groundshare with Newmarket Town was arranged so that Cambridge City would play their home games at Newmarket's Cricket Field Road for the 2010–2011 season, but an extension to the lease at Milton Road meant that the move never took place. Once confirmation had been made City would need to vacate Milton Road at the end of the 2012–13 season, the club agreed a two-year ground share with Histon
Histon is a village and civil parish in the South Cambridgeshire district, in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is immediately north of Cambridge – and is separated from the city – by the A14 road (England), A14 road which runs eas ...
from the start of the 2013–14 season.
Cambridge City reached the First Round proper of the 2012–13 FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
, and the City Ground hosted its first televised match. ESPN
ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
screened a 0–0 draw against League One League One or League 1 may refer to:
Association football
* EFL League One, the third tier of football in England.
* China League One, the second tier of football in China
* K League 1, the top-tier football in South Korea
* Lao League 1
* Lea ...
side Milton Keynes Dons
Milton Keynes Dons Football Club, usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football leag ...
.
On 27 April 2013, with City having missed the playoffs of the Southern League Premier Division
The Southern League is a football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from East Anglia, the South and Midlands of England, and South Wales. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and e ...
, they played their last match at Milton Road against Redditch United
Redditch United Football Club is an English football club based in Redditch, Worcestershire. The club participates in the and play their home games at the Valley Stadium. They are managed by Matt Clarke.
History
They were originally called Re ...
. The day was marked with various events, including over thirty former players being in attendance at the game. A crowd of 814 saw Adrian Cambridge score the only goal of the game to ensure City ended their stay at Milton Road with a win.
Greyhound racing
Greyhound racing started at Milton Road on 6 October 1968 after a track was constructed around the football pitch. The racing was independent (unaffiliated to a governing body) and was known as the Cambridge City Greyhound Stadium. The first racing took place on Wednesday and Saturday evenings at 7.30pm on a circumference of 400 yards with a 'McGee Outside' hare. Distances were 260, 460 and 660 yards on an all-grass track.
In 1974 the management decided to become National Greyhound Racing Club The National Greyhound Racing Club was an organisation that governed Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom
Greyhound racing is a sport in the United Kingdom. The industry uses a parimutuel betting tote system with on-course and off-course be ...
(NGRC) affiliated but the association only lasted five months before promoter Laurie Boost said increased costs had forced the track to revert to its independent status. In 1978 the decision was made to race under NGRC rules for a second time which resulted in a considerable sequence of successes for the track that had only just switched from being an independent. Racing took place every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday evening with trials sessions held on Thursday afternoons. The switch to NGRC rules resulted in the track being resurfaced and restaurant facilities being made available to the public. A strong group of trainers became attached to the track and the first race under the new rules was on 24 November with the Racing Manager being J Foster.
The trainers arriving included Pat Mullins, the 1978 English Greyhound Derby
The 1978 Spillers Greyhound Derby took place during May, June and July with the final being held on 1 July 1978 at White City Stadium.
The winner was Lacca Champion and the winning owners Paul Howell, Sandra Howell and David Hill received a re ...
winning trainer, and he brought success to Cambridge when he won the Scottish Greyhound Derby
The Scottish Greyhound Derby was an original classic greyhound competition held from 1928 to 2019, at Carntyne Stadium and then Shawfield Stadium.
History
The competition was introduced at Carntyne Stadium in 1928. It was held until 1968 at ...
with Greenville Boy in 1979. Lacca Champion nearly achieved a remarkable double when finishing runner up in the 1979 Greyhound Derby. Also in 1979 a newcomer called Sport Promoter, reared by Pat and his wife Linda Mullins, broke the track record over 400m at Cambridge in his first race and went on to win the Romford Puppy Cup and Juvenile. The George Morrow-trained Northway Point won the Scurry Gold Cup, and highly respected trainer Joe Cobbold joined the training ranks.
Sport Promoter was awarded the title of Greyhound of the Year and trainer Pat Mullins also became the Trainer of the Year in 1980 but in 1981 Pat Mullins died and his wife Linda took over the kennels. Joe Cobbold claimed the 1981 Trainer of the Year and the latest training recruit Natalie Savva then went on to win the Puppy Derby with Special Account. The track was recognised by the industry after receiving Bookmakers Afternoon Greyhound Service
(BAGS) contract in 1982. The golden period came to an end in 1983 when Cambridge had its NGRC licence cancelled and reverted once again to independent status but this forced the leading trainers to leave.
In 1984, planning permission was given for a £10 million redevelopment scheme for the ground. The pitch, greyhound track and stands were demolished and replaced by a three-storey block of research and development buildings with an underground car park, and the football pitch was moved north-west. The last meeting was held on 14 April 1984.
and the last football match was a 2-2 draw between Cambridge City and Dunstable on Wednesday 25th April 1984 before a crowd of 179.
References
{{English greyhound tracks
External links
Cambridge City website
Cambridge City F.C.
Defunct football venues in England
Sports venues in Cambridge
Sports venues completed in 1922
Defunct greyhound racing venues in the United Kingdom