Macclesfield Road, Hazel Grove, Stockport, Cheshire.
POSTCODE———————————–SK7 6DD.
LOCATED————-——–—————–Hazel grove lies about three miles south east of the city of Stockport in Cheshire. The stadium itself lay east of the A523 Macclesfield Road opposite Hazel Grove Snooker Club.
ORIGINAL SITE—————-—-———–Built on grazing meadows east of Macclesfield Road sandwiched in between a railway viaduct and a railway embankment.
DATE CONSTRUCTED——-——-——-1932
DATE VENUE OPENED——-—-———December 1932.
Meaning other sports may have taken place prior to the arrival of Greyhound Racing.
FIRST MEETING——————-———-Saturday December 24th 1932.
Greyhound Racing only.
LICENSED OR INDEPENDENT—-—-—Independent but operated under rules similar to NGRC.
All venues covered would have to be be licensed with the government, licensed suggested in this section would refere to tracks operating under NGRC Rules.
INSIDE OR OUTSIDE HARE TYPE——-Inside Sumner.
Please note that the Electric Hare suggested is only a guidance and would have been in operation for a certain amount of time at this venue. Although it is not necessarily guaranteed that it was operational all the time, as other types of lure may have been used and updated as time progressed.
DISTANCES————————-——-—310, 509 and 525 yards.
Please note that most racing venues distances had become varied throughout the years, the ones given above were at once point set and offers only a guidance to the track size.
CIRCUMFERENCE—————————Not known.
Please note that alterations at most racing venues throughout its existence would see that the circumference of the track would vary, the one shown above offers only a guidance to the track size.
BIG RACE NAMES—————————None found.
STADIUM SHARED WITH————-—–Brief spell of Speedway Racing.
LAST MEETING——————————-June 1960.
Greyhound Racing only.
STADIUM CLOSURE DATE————-—June 1960.
Meaning other sports may have taken place after Greyhound Racing had ceased.
STADIUM DEMOLITION———–——–Research suggestes 1969 and still showed up on early 1970’s ordnance survey map.
BUILT ON SITE—————————-A Carpet Right and the Hazel Grove park and ride car park both accessed along Melford Road.
In some cases, structure’s that originally covered the venue after the stadium had been demolished, may have been themselves demolished too, so the one described is more likely to be the one which now presently covers the site.
EVIDENCE LEFT TODAY——–———–None known of.
FURTHER COMMENTS——————-None
One of the lesser-known greyhound tracks that operated in the northwest was the one found at Hazel Grove in Cheshire, a suburb close to the Derbyshire border, situated roughly three miles Southeast of Stockport town centre. It was during the early 1930’s that a group of Greyhound Racing enthusiasts, purchased a section of unoccupied land, that happened to lay in the shadows of two huge stone brick railway arches, situated along the side of the A523 Macclesfield Road.
It was during the latter months of 1932 that stadium began to develop, and during this period the greyhound company purchased enough greyhounds to fill their kennels ready in time for its opening meeting on a Saturday afternoon on the 24th of December 1932. Although more recognised as an independent track, races may have been staged under rules set similar to those of the NGRC.
Distances were run over 310, 509 and 525 yards, with races consisting of five greyhounds chasing an inside Sumner type hare. Again, like a number of greyhound stadiums across the country, the venue caught the imagination of Speedway Promoters, and during 1937 a grass part cinder speedway circuit was laid within the infield of the greyhound track. Unfortunately, the idea failed miserably, lasting for no more than a month due to poor organisation, and also a ticking off from the council due to complaints regarding noise levels.
Greyhound Racing remained as the venue’s sole income and continued to operate until new betting regulations contributed to its closure in June 1960. The stadium remained unoccupied for a good number of years following, but it was eventually demolished in 1969 as the land had been acquired by the council under a development scheme that would see a new industrial estate built on the site.
The greyhound stadium and the surrounding Torkington Sports Pitches, would eventually make way for the appropriately named Greyhound Industrial Estate. Today, Melford Road worms its way through the centre of were the stadium once lay. On the left looking towards the railway viaduct, lies nothing but concrete foundations, left behind by a demolished car hire firm who once occupied the industrial units many years ago. To the right of this access road is a Carpet Right Showroom, still trading today and to the left is The Hazel Grove park and ride car park. On the opposite side of the main Macclesfield Road, is the Hazel Grove Snooker Club, this along with the two railway arches, gives a good indication of where the Hazel Grove Greyhound Stadium once stood.
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