Polo Grounds (now Industrial Estate) Pontypool NP4 0TW
Another South Wales venue that hosted greyhound racing was at The Polo Grounds, a sporting venue located on the outskirts of Monmouthshire town of Pontypool.
On earlier maps the venue was recognised as New Park, and was located in a village known then as Pontypool Road. As well as the sport of Polo, New Park also hosted Hockey, Cricket, Athletics, Tennis, Rugby Union and Association Football during its existence. The sport of Polo had once been its main feature, hence the name Polo Ground, but the sport seemed to lose popularity and had virtually ceased by the end of the nineteenth century.
It wasn’t until the early Summer of 1933 that gatherings for greyhound racing began, with the venue staging racing at an independent level. Little else is known on how operations developed, and researching reveals little on how long it lasted, but it is certainly clear that racing had ceased well before the outbreak of The Second World War.
During hostilities the venue became used as a training camp and also accommodation for soldiers, before eventually becoming a prison camp for German and Italian prisoners of war towards the latter end of the War.
Efforts were made after the War to bring back greyhound racing, as newspaper evidence shows that a Betting License had been granted, but it seems no evidence of the sport ever taking place.
Today, The Polo Ground has far long gone, its site now lying beneath not surprisingly The Polo Grounds Industrial Estate, located in the renamed village of New Inn, which is located roughly one and a half miles South West of Pontypool town centre.
Recent Comments