Brockville Greyhound Racecourse, Grahams Road, Falkirk, Stirlingshire, Scotland.
POSTCODE———————————-FK1 1LW
LOCATED————————————Opposite the Railway Station on Grahams Road about a quarter of a mile north of Falkirk town centre just over railway brifge on immediate right.
ORIGINAL SITE—————————–Built on the site of the Old Springfield Iron Foundary between Some Railway Sidings.
DATE CONSTRUCTED——————–1932
DATE VENUE OPENED——————-August 1932.
Meaning other sports may have taken place prior to the arrival of Greyhound Racing.
FIRST MEETING—————————–August 19th 1932.
Greyhound Racing only.
LICENSED OR INDEPENDENT———-NGRC up to 1937 then Independent onwards until closure.
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——Inside
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———————————–250, 450, 580 and 800 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—————————Don’t know.
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—————————Nothing known of.
STADIUM SHARED WITH——————Nothing known of.
LAST MEETING——————————-Saturday 25th February 1989 according to the latest research of local newspapers.
Greyhound Racing only.
STADIUM CLOSURE DATE—————-1991
Meaning other sports may have taken place after Greyhound Racing had ceased.
STADIUM DEMOLITION——————-Early 1990’s.
BUILT ON SITE——————————-A Tesco Instore Pharmacy and Shopping Mall situated on the Central Retail Park on Grahams 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——————-Nothing known of.
FURTHER COMMENTS——————–None
During the early 1930’s the Stirlingshire town of Falkirk witnessed the births of three greyhound tracks. The first one was at the Firs Park, the home of East Stirlingshire’s Football Club, which had opened in 1930, with the others being Brockville Park, and Brockville Stadium, both opening during the summer months of 1932. The latter was also known as The Diamond Stadium, due to it having been constructed on the site of the old Springfield Diamond Foundry and became the last of the three to open.
It is in this chapter that this venue is described, situated in the district of Grahamston, an industrious area found within a quarter of a mile north of Falkirk town centre. It was also situated close to a railway station, which would hope to be in an ideal position for attracting new punters. It had cost around £20,000 to construct but would face tough competition from the other two tracks close by, with the one at Brockville Park situated within half a mile to the east, and Firs Park even closer to the north.
But one thing was different at the Diamond Stadium, is that it could offer its patrons Greyhound Racing under NGRC rules, unlike the other two independent tracks. But even before the stadium began operations, it had developed a fierce rivalry between the newly opened track at the Falkirk Football Ground, which had opened the previous month. The management of the new stadium accused the football club of stealing their idea, knowing full well that a purpose-built greyhound stadium was about to open close by. In retaliation, the newly built track promoted matinee meetings on the Saturday afternoons, to deliberately encourage the football followers to come and watch the dogs instead. The Diamond Stadium staged its first meeting on the Friday evening of the 19th of August 1932, with an eight-race event consisting of five greyhounds contesting over distances of 350 and 500 yards. The first event winner was Willie C, a 2-1 shot joint favourite, who became victorious in front of an impressive 4,000 crowd.
So popular was the first meeting, that the following day witnessed two more meetings, with one in the afternoon, and then another at seven o’clock in the evening. Rivalry between the two tracks would last for the next two years or so, before both competitors ceased operations, firstly Firs Park in 1933 then Brockville Park which would end in May 1935. In October 1937, and after five years of racing under NGRC rules, the Falkirk track switched to operating as an independent flapping track, knowing that the cost of opting out would cost less.
The Falkirk Stadium continued throughout the years, with racing over modern distances of 250, 450, 580 and 800 yards, with the hounds chasing an outside Sumner type hare. It appears closure came during February 1989 after the venue had been sold to developers, before eventually becoming bulldozed and replaced by The Central Retail Park. A Tesco Instore Pharmacy and a shopping precinct now pinpoints the site were the venue once lay, leaving no trace at all of the old stadium.
A programme, photograph or even memorabilia for this track is required for this page, if you can help please contact me.
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