Cutler Heights Lane, Dudley Hill, Bradford, West Yorkshire.
POSTCODE———————————-BD4 9LR
LOCATED————————————About two miles southwest of Bradford city centre, in the district or Dudley Hill.
ORIGINAL SITE—————————–Athletics track.
DATE CONSTRUCTED——————–Late 1800’s.
DATE VENUE OPENED——————-Late 1800’s for Athletics
Meaning other sports may have taken place prior to the arrival of Greyhound Racing.
FIRST MEETING—————————-October 8th 1927.
Greyhound Racing only.
LICENSED OR INDEPENDENT———-NGRC.
All venues covered would have to be licensed with the government, licensed suggested in this section would refer to tracks operating under NGRC Rules.
INSIDE OR OUTSIDE HARE TYPE——Outside 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 and 500 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—————————Dont know
Please note that alterations at most racing venues throught 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 known of.
STADIUM SHARED WITH——————Speedway
LAST MEETING——————————-March 5th 1969.
Greyhound Racing only.
STADIUM CLOSURE DATE—————-March 1969.
Meaning other sports may have taken place after Greyhound Racing had ceased.
STADIUM DEMOLITION——————–1969
BUILT ON SITE——————————–Morrisons supermarket warehouse.
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——————–Nothing known of.
FURTHER COMMENTS———————The Speedway fans claimed that The Greenfield Stadium created a better atmosphere with 2,000 watching than The Odsall Stadium could with 20,000 watching.
The first of two established Greyhound Racing venues that operated in the city of Bradford, was the one situated in the district of Dudley Hill, which became known to locals as The Greenfield Greyhound Stadium. The venue was situated roughly two miles south east of Bradford city centre, having developed during the latter years of the nineteenth century, as a host to Cycling, Athletics and Harness Racing. Rugby League featured also, with Bradford Northern hosting matches there during the 1907-08 season, along with one of the city’s football clubs, with Bradford City playing friendly and reserve matches there.
But it wasn’t until 1927 that a greyhound track was laid, albeit under the guidance of The AGR, “The Associated Greyhound Racecourses”, a company who had seen the success at Belle Vue, Manchester, and who were keen to reap the benefits of the new sport by introducing it to other cities across England. Investment at the stadium had seen a huge tote board erected behind one of the bends, with two grandstands extended, along with additional terracing being laid, which increased the stadium’s capacity to 20,000.
The Greenfield Stadium Staged its first meeting on The 8th of October 1927 in front of an impressive 13,000 crowd. Although races were staged under rules similar to those of the NGRC, it wasn’t until May of 1928 that official NGRC rules were recognised. Throughout most of its existence it offered five dog racing, even with the six-jacket preferred rather than the white jacket of trap three.
Distances were run over 310 and 500 Yards, with the greyhounds chasing an outside Sumner type hare. One strange happening occurred at the stadium during June 1959, when a triple dead heat was captured on its photo finish equipment, a first amongst all the NGRC track members. Although Grass Track Speedway had featured in 1928, it wasn’t until 1961 that a permanent Speedway track was laid within the infield of the greyhound track, with Bradford Panthers using the stadium for just two seasons only before disbanding. One thing was praised about the stadium by its fans, was that its regular 2,000 or so Speedway followers, could create more of a volume than the 20,000 that once attended the nearby exposed Odsal Stadium.
The late 1960’s had witnessed a decline of Greyhound Racing at the stadium, and it came as no surprise to many that the venue had been sold to developers. Greenfields last meeting was staged on the 5th of May 1969, with an impressive 4,790 racegoers attending to say farewell. The site was bulldozed three weeks later, with the site becoming levelled, and by the early 1970’s industrial buildings had begun to cover the site.
Today, a huge Morrison’s Supermarket warehouse, pinpoints the stadiums once location, now situated along School Road, but unfortunately this modern construction smothers all trace of the old Greenfield venue.
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