I realise that a few reports have already been written and since I have been holding on to this since May (due to one thing and another) thought it was about time that I got mine up!
Had quite a few great nights out here, chicken in a basket, far too much beer and the odd flutter, the place always looked like it was in need of a lick of paint but such a shame to see that it has been well & truly chaved!
The stadium was visited on two occasions, once on my own and the second time with James & Russell (cheers guys!). On the first visit I did see a couple of kids on bikes riding around the track; one look at me and they scarpered – can’t imagine why!
Considering that the stadium has been in Portsmouth since 1931 I couldn’t find too much history but did manage to find some facts and figures (shamelessly gleaned from Portsmouth Greyhound Stadium):
‘The stadium opened in 1931 and is known as the track where legendary trainer George Curtis showcased his skills’
Stadium Capacity: 1,200
Track Circumference: 354 metres
Distances Raced: 438, 610, 792 and 964 metres
Run to First Bend: 90 metres (for 438m races), 95 metres (for 610m races)
Stadium Records:
256m: Lissadel Tiger - 15.55 sec (11/09/89)
438m: Beavers Dip - 26.37 sec. (07/16/88)
610m: Firmount Flapjack - 38.14 sec. (13/10/00)
792m: My Texette - 50.52 sec. (07/28/93)
964m: Wheres Dunait - 62.94 sec. (07/28/93)
The stadium closed in April 2010 when the lease expired and the land is considered important as part of the redevelopment of Tipner – although no signs of anything happening just yet!
Since closure the site has been subject to plenty of vandalism (I could count the number of intact windows on one hand!) and there was evidence of one fire when I first visited (note to Chavs; cooking oil is not flammable
) and evidence of a further fire that had started to take hold on the second visit. Portsmouth news have since reported a more severe fire that destroyed the VIP bar and the site is now ‘secured’ with plywood covering the windows and doors.
Anyhoo, on with the photo’s:
Hare’s on the move!
Inside view of fast food building with evidence of fire damage
Race records strewn across the yard outside the kennel building
View from the control booth
View down the track
Always wondered what was inside this building, turns out bottom floor housed the admin offices and the upper levels (accessed by an incredibly dodgy ladder!) housed what appeared to be an archaic scoreboard consisting of a series of wooden racks with windows facing out onto the track (on the right hand side) and of course the obligatory chair:
Cheers for looking, as always the remainder of the photo’s are on flickr!
Had quite a few great nights out here, chicken in a basket, far too much beer and the odd flutter, the place always looked like it was in need of a lick of paint but such a shame to see that it has been well & truly chaved!
The stadium was visited on two occasions, once on my own and the second time with James & Russell (cheers guys!). On the first visit I did see a couple of kids on bikes riding around the track; one look at me and they scarpered – can’t imagine why!
Considering that the stadium has been in Portsmouth since 1931 I couldn’t find too much history but did manage to find some facts and figures (shamelessly gleaned from Portsmouth Greyhound Stadium):
‘The stadium opened in 1931 and is known as the track where legendary trainer George Curtis showcased his skills’
Stadium Capacity: 1,200
Track Circumference: 354 metres
Distances Raced: 438, 610, 792 and 964 metres
Run to First Bend: 90 metres (for 438m races), 95 metres (for 610m races)
Stadium Records:
256m: Lissadel Tiger - 15.55 sec (11/09/89)
438m: Beavers Dip - 26.37 sec. (07/16/88)
610m: Firmount Flapjack - 38.14 sec. (13/10/00)
792m: My Texette - 50.52 sec. (07/28/93)
964m: Wheres Dunait - 62.94 sec. (07/28/93)
The stadium closed in April 2010 when the lease expired and the land is considered important as part of the redevelopment of Tipner – although no signs of anything happening just yet!
Since closure the site has been subject to plenty of vandalism (I could count the number of intact windows on one hand!) and there was evidence of one fire when I first visited (note to Chavs; cooking oil is not flammable
) and evidence of a further fire that had started to take hold on the second visit. Portsmouth news have since reported a more severe fire that destroyed the VIP bar and the site is now ‘secured’ with plywood covering the windows and doors.Anyhoo, on with the photo’s:
Hare’s on the move!
Inside view of fast food building with evidence of fire damage
Race records strewn across the yard outside the kennel building
View from the control booth
View down the track
Always wondered what was inside this building, turns out bottom floor housed the admin offices and the upper levels (accessed by an incredibly dodgy ladder!) housed what appeared to be an archaic scoreboard consisting of a series of wooden racks with windows facing out onto the track (on the right hand side) and of course the obligatory chair:
Cheers for looking, as always the remainder of the photo’s are on flickr!
