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 Interactive map of Perry Barr Stadium | |
| Full name | Perry Barr Greyhound Stadium |
|---|---|
| Former names | Alexander Sports Ground |
| Location | Aldridge Road,Perry Barr,Birmingham, England |
| Coordinates | 52°31′11″N1°53′56″W / 52.5196°N 1.8988°W /52.5196; -1.8988 |
| Owner | National Asset Management Agency |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 27 July 1929 (1929-07-27) |
| Expanded | 2007 |
| Closed | 2025 (2025) |
| Demolished | 2025 |
| Tenants | |
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Perry Barr Stadium (also known asPerry Barr Greyhound Stadium and previously asAlexander Sports Ground(s)[1]) was agreyhound racing andmotorcycle speedway stadium on Aldridge Road inPerry Barr,Birmingham, England. It is not to be confused with theBirchfield Ladbroke Stadium that is known as the old Perry Barr Stadium which closed in 1984. The track was operated by various greyhound companies, the last being theArena Racing Company (ARC), who leased it from owners the National Asset Management Agency. Racing took place every Saturday evening, in addition to their afternoon fixtures.
Opened in 1929, it was built forBirchfield Harriers, who left in 1977. It was then used forgreyhound racing andspeedway.
In 2025, the greyhound racing and speedway ceased as the lease expiry approached,[2] with the entire greyhound racing operation being transferred to the newDunstall Park Greyhound Stadium but the speedway being left without a home.[3] In October 2025, the stadium was demolished.
._Perry_Barr_Stadium_and_the_surrounding_residential_area%2c_Perry_Barr%2c_1937_(cropped_1).png)
The stadium was opposite the formerBirmingham City University main campus and close to (and served by)Perry Barr railway station. It sat in the fork of theA34 Walsall Road (to its West) and the A453 Aldridge Road. TheRiver Tame flows northwards between the site and the A34.
The stadium was originally constructed for anathletics club,Birchfield Harriers who held its opening ceremony on 27 July 1929,[1] having purchased the land on 11 November 1926.[1] The façade carried their badge, a runningstag, rendered inArt Deco stylebas relief, carved in 1929 and attributed toWilliam Bloye.[4] The site was formerly a rubbish tip, chiefly forfly ash from a local power station.[1]
Birchfield Cycling Club used the venue for cycle races, and, from the mid-1930s, the cycle track outside the running lanes was used by the Sunbac Speedway Club for dirt-track racing (speedway).[1] In the 1930s and 40s,Aston Villa Football Club's second and third teams trained at the stadium.[1]
Soon after the start ofWorld War II, the stadium was requisitioned by the government and used by theHome Guard.[1] Later in the war it was used to accommodateItalianprisoners of war;[1] the last of these did not leave until January 1946[1] and the club only returned to the stadium the following month.[1] Shortly afterwards, the club hired out the stadium on Saturday evenings, to Birmingham Speedway.Floodlighting was installed to facilitate the latter,[1] and this allowed for the first floodlit athletics meeting ever held in the United Kingdom, in September 1948,[1] after the lights had been turned on near the end of an earlier meeting, which had overrun into dusk.[1] Floodlit horse jumping competitions were also held.[1]
On 29 May 1954Diane Leather became the first woman to run a mile in less than 5 minutes, during the Midlands Women'sAAA Championships at the ground.[5][6]
In 1977, their centenary year,[1] Birchfield Harriers moved to the newly builtAlexander Stadium, nearby,[1] and the old venue was renamed "Perry Barr Stadium".
The stadium was the home of the Birmingham Brummies speedway team. The stadium was expanded in 2007 to facilitate a speedway track.[7] Theshale track was 292 metres (319 yards) in length.
Perry Barr had been without greyhound racing since 1984 following the surprise sale byLadbrokes and subsequent demolition of the old Perry Barr stadium on Walsall Road, and known latterly as theBirchfield Ladbroke Stadium. However during 1990 negotiations started with the aim to re-introduce the sport at the Alexander Sports Ground across the other side of the A34. The stadium was no longer used for athletics because the newAlexander Stadium Stadium in Perry Park was serving this purpose. Maurice Buckland a former trainer and head of a consortium called the Perry Barr Greyhound Racing Club suggested the idea of greyhound racing at the venue it was given planning permission.[8]
The new build was completed quickly and the new stadium opened on 16 October attracting trainers the calibre of Geoff DeMulder who guided Fearless Mustang to the 1991English Greyhound Derby final as a Perry Barr trainer during the first Derby tilt for the new track.[9][10]
The circumference of the track was 435 metres with wide straights and bends and race distances of 275, 460, 500, 660, 710 and 895 metres. An 'Outside Sumner' hare was used on Tuesday and Thursday race nights overseen by Racing Manager Gary Woodward. There were kennels for 82 hounds on site.A former trainer from the previous Perry Barr called Frank Baldwin took over as Racing Manager in 1991.[11]
A major race called theBirmingham Cup was held at Perry Barr until 2009 and it also hosted the original classic race theScurry Gold Cup from 2005 to 2008. Another Perry Barr hound called Heres Seanie (trained by Pat Ryan) reached the1995 English Greyhound Derby final and Racing Managers included Ian Hillis and Tim Hales.
TheGreyhound Racing Association (GRA) under their parent company Wembley plc planned to build a track in Liverpool and acquire Perry Barr. The former did not materialise but in May 2005 a £4.2 million takeover was agreed with the Perry Barr Greyhound Racing Club. Stephen Rea and Gary Woodward were brought in as the General and Racing Manager. After initial investment into the stadium the GRA brought the former classic race theScurry Gold Cup to the track following the closure ofCatford Stadium. The stadium hosted twotrainers championships in 2005 and 2012 and inbetween the Scurry was moved to sister trackBelle Vue Stadium but the rekindled Birmingham Cup was discontinued in 2009 leaving Perry Barr with no major event of note.[12]
The track today uses an 'Outside Swaffham' hare and is a regular on the Bookmakers Afternoon Greyhound Service (BAGS) overseen by Racing Manager Martin Seal.
The GRA, under new parent company Risk Capital, ran into financial difficulties and unpaid loans resulted in NAMA (Ireland's National Asset Management Agency) taking control of the GRA. In 2013 an agreement was brokered securing the use of the stadium by the GRA until at least 2026 from parent company NAMA; and as Perry Barr has since become the only remaining GRA stadium not to be sold to other commercial investors by NAMA it remains the most secure stadium still operating under the GRA banner.[13]
In 2017 the stadium was awarded the prestigiousSt Leger after it switched from sister track Wimbledon.[14] One year later in 2018 the stadium signed a deal with ARC to race on Monday, Thursday and Saturday lunchtimes and Sunday afternoon.[15]
In October 2019 GRA Acquisition sold the lease to theArena Racing Company[16][17]
In 2021 the stadium was given the prestigiousLaurels andOaks, resulting in the track holding four of the original classic races, the St Leger, Laurels, Oaks and Scurry Gold Cup.[18] In 2022, the stadium owners ARC signed a long term deal withEntain for media rights, starting in January 2024.[19]
With the greyhound racing and speedway lease due to expire in 2026, plans were submitted by the Corbally Group, a West Midlands developer to build more than 400 homes on the site.[20] Plans to move the greyhound operation toDunstall Park Greyhound Stadium inWolverhampton began with the St Leger being moved to Nottingham and the Oaks to Dunstall Park at theWolverhampton Racecourse.[2] The operation moved during late August 2025. The last greyhound meeting was held on 23 August[21] and the last speedway meeting on 25 August.[22]
In October 2025, the stadium was demolished, despite the necessary planning permission for this not having been obtained.[23]
| Metres | Greyhound | Time (sec) | Date | Notes/ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 275 | Rioja Oisin | 15.71 | 19 October 2024 | Scurry Gold Cup semi final[25] |
| 480 | Coolavanny Shado | 27.77 | 27 October 2022 | [26] |
| 660 | Newinn This Way | 39.55 | 31 July 2015 | [27] |
| 710 | Droopys Clue | 42.33 | 23 September 2023 | St Leger final[28] |
| 915 | Aayamza Royale | 56.42 | 30 September 2021 | [29] |
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