 Greenfield Stadium in Bradford c.1960 | |
 Interactive map of Greenfield Stadium | |
| Former names | Greenfield Athletic Ground Greenfield Autodrome Yorkshire Trotting and Athletic Grounds |
|---|---|
| Location | Bradford |
| Opened | Before 1907 |
| Closed | 5 March 1969 |
| Tenants | |
| Bradford Northern Bradford Panthers Greyhound racing | |
Greenfield Stadium, also known asGreenfield Athletic Ground,[1]Greenfield Autodrome[2] and theYorkshire Trotting and Athletic Grounds[1] was a sports venue inBradford,West Yorkshire,England. The venue was the first and former home ground ofBradford NorthernRugby league Football Club, before later becoming agreyhoundstadium andspeedway track. It was situated adjacent to School Street, off Cutler Heights Lane inDudley Hill,Bradford and in 1907, consisted of a sixacre field enclosed by a pear-shapedathletic andtrotting track.[1]
In 1907, the newly formed Bradford Northern rented the ground for £8 from Whitaker's Brewery, who also agreed tosponsor the club. It became Northern's first permanent home and the club set up itsheadquarters at the adjacent Greenfield Hotel. Bradford's first match there was againstHuddersfield on 7 September 1907 and was watched by around 7,000 spectators. The club gained a significant scalp later that year when they beat theNew Zealand touring side.[3]
Northern spent a total of £302 on agrandstand, fencing and the pitch[1] even though they only spent oneseason at Greenfield. They vacated the ground after a vote at theirAGM in June 1908, whence they moved toBirch Lane and then onto their current homeOdsal Stadium. With Northern's departure, the ground reverted to sole usage as a running and trotting track and by the 1920s was known as the Yorkshire Trotting and Athletic Grounds.[1]
In 1926 work began on the venue to convert it into a greyhound racing stadium, one of the first in theUK and it opened on 8 October 1927.[4][5] The track was affiliated to theNational Greyhound Racing Club.[6]
By now the facilities were much more developed than they had been in early days. There was a main stand made up of coveredterracing on the School Street side, opposite thestarting gate. There was also covered terracing along the back straight on the Cutler Heights side. At one end was a hugetote board but no terracing and at the other end, a concourse withbetting and a clubhouse overlooking the dog track.[7]
During the first month of racing the city of Bradford suffered severe gales and on the 29 October 1927 the football team lost the roof of theirenclosure and the greyhound track lost the roof from both stands. The stadium traded as Greenfield Greyhound Racing Association overseen by general manager J.C.Ridley. the two major stakeholders were the Electric Hare Company, Liverpool and theGreyhound Racing Association.
In 1932 trainer Jimmy Rimmer set a record of 504 winners in one year whilst attached to the track, Rimmer was famous as being the slipper at theWaterloo Cup for many years. One year later in 1934 Greenfield was represented by a greyhound called Deemsters Mike in theEnglish Greyhound Derby final. The brindle dog trained by Fred Livesly also went on to win theNorthern Flat.[8]
The track was described as a well laid out course with a good run-in to the finish and suitable for all types of runners. There was an 'Outside Sumner' hare and race distances of 310, 500, 650 and 700 yards on a circuit with a 420-yard circumference. The stadium entrances sat alongside the Greenfield Hotel and the popular club stand, on the opposite side of the track was the stadium club stand where the finishing line was located. Behind this stand fifty race day kennels and a paddock provided the hounds housing. Even further behind these were the residential kennels. Between the first and second bends a third stand called the Padden Connel club brought the total spectator capacity to 7,000 patrons.[9]
In 1952 the track reached the final of the national track championship sponsored by theNews of the World only to lose out toEastville Stadium 19–11.
In 1961, a 320 yards (290 metres) speedway track was laid inside the dog track, and the city'sspeedway team,Bradford Panthers, relocated to Greenfield fromOdsal Stadium. The first meeting was opened by famous speedway promoterJohnnie Hoskins. Success was short-lived, and the last meeting at Greenfield Stadium was a double-header against Sheffield and Leicester on Tuesday 9 October 1962. The Panthers folded soon after.[7]
The stadium was closed for business in March 1969[6] and sold for industrial warehousing.[1] The last sporting event was a greyhound meeting on 5 March, attended by 4,790.[10]
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| Distance yards | Greyhound | Time | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 310 | Castlewood Captain | 17.27 | 1946 | |
| 500 | Fine Parade | 28.34 | 1946 | |
| 500 | Fly Baby Fly | 28.20 | 10.06.1964 | |
| 500 | Faithful Hope | 28.20 | 13.10.1965 | |
| 650 | Well Schooled | 37.40 | 1946 | |
| 650 | Haverbrack Rona | 37.29 | 1950 | |
| 700 | Peartree Man | 40.90 | 1946 | |
| 700 | Siva Starlight | 40.26 | 13.06.1962 | |
| 310 H | Duoro | 18.93 | 1930 |