Leicester Stadium

Leicester Stadium was a sports stadium on Parker Drive in Leicester which opened in 1923. It was demolished in 1984 after the land was sold to Barratt Homes. The stadium was initially used for greyhound racing with motorcycle speedway starting there five years later. It was also a venue for BriSCA Formula 1 Stock Cars.

History

Built in 1923, the stadium (often referred to as Blackbird Road) initially staged greyhound racing.^[1] The increasing popularity of speedway (or dirt-track racing as it was then known) led to a track being constructed inside the dog track at a cost of £30,000, and the stadium first staged a speedway meeting on 6 September 1928, with sidecar racing also staged that year.^[1][2] The stadium lent its name to the speedway team, known as 'Leicester Stadium', which competed in the English Dirt Track League in 1929 and the Southern League from 1930.^[1] The speedway track was relaid before the 1932 season, but speedway only operated intermittently in the years that followed. Speedway returned to the stadium in 1949 with the Leicester Hunters who continued there until 1962, after which the speedway promotion of the day moved to Long Eaton due to low attendances.^[1] A few meetings were staged in 1963, including the 'Pride of the Midlands' individual competition won by Ove Fundin, but regular speedway did not return until 1968 when the Long Eaton operation transferred to Leicester, beginning the first era of the Leicester Lions. After the end of the 1983 season, the stadium site was sold to Barratt Homes for housing, and while greyhound and stock car racing continued into 1984, the speedway operation was closed down.^[1]

Stock Car Racing

Stock Car Racing was first held in 1954 through to 1956, then held in 1962 and 1963. Racing finally returned in 1974 until the stadium closed in 1984.^[3]

References