City Stadium, Bradford was a greyhound track in

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

Origins and opening

The City Stadium was constructed in the middle of a busy industrial area east of Brownroyd Street off the main tramway route of Legrams Lane. A railway line ran adjacent to the eastern side that carried the goods from the mills to other parts of Britain and the main industry in the immediate area was textile with dye works being particularly prominent around the stadium. Access to the track was by virtue of a bridge (if arriving from the west) over the railway track and then a lane that ran alongside the railway line (also used by those coming from the east and south). The City Stadium opened on Monday 15 August 1932 five years after the opening of the Greenfield Stadium and the main stand which backed onto the railway line and Brownroyd Street featured tote facilities and seating with further terracing and kennels on the south side by Legrams Lane.

History

The City Stadium was originally affiliated to the British Greyhound Track Control Society (BGTCS), one of the two organisations governing the sport and the rival to the

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). When the BGTCS disbanded in 1935 the stadium owners the (City Greyhound and Sports Club (Bradford) Ltd) became independent (unaffiliated). Despite basic facilities the stadium was selected by

Romulus films Sir John Woolf (15 March 1913, London – 28 June 1999, London) and his brother James Woolf (2 March 1920, London – 30 May 1966, Beverly Hills, California) were British film producers. John and James founded the production companies Romulus Fi ...

to be the backdrop of several scenes in the hugely successful 1958 film called Room at the Top. Racing in the 1960s was mainly handicaps over 470 yards on Wednesday & Saturday afternoons.

Closure

In 1961 the effect of the

Betting and Gaming Act 1960 The Betting and Gaming Act 1960 ( 8 & 9 Eliz. 2. c. 60) was a British Act of Parliament that legalised additional forms of gambling in the United Kingdom. It was passed on 1 September 1960 and came into effect on 1 January 1961. Provisions ...

which allowed the opening of betting shops impacted the City Stadium with attendances and tote turnover being affected badly. An attempt to fight back was made with the owners introducing various ideas (including post racing card games) but a serious fire in 1963 caused £50,000 worth of damage and the track never recovered. Greyhound racing came to an end on the Wednesday afternoon of 30 October 1965. For a short time cycling events still took place on a constructed cycling track described as a velodrome but it was soon replaced by a large warehouse. The area today remains largely industrial and the greyhound stadium would have been where the large Federal Mogul buildings are located. The lane that ran alongside the long-gone railway line is now the road leading to Federal Mogul called 'Greyhound Drive'.

References

{{English greyhound tracks Defunct greyhound racing venues in the United Kingdom Bradford