Greyhound Stadium

Brighton and Hove Stadium

Reproduced with permission from the Encyclopaedia of Brighton by Tim Carder, 1990

Please note that this text is an extract from a reference work written in 1990.  As a result, some of the content may not reflect recent research, changes and events.

Brighton's greyhound stadium opened on 2 June 1928, just two years after the first greyhound meeting in the country. Costing £40,000, the arena was built on the site of Messrs Clark's market garden, and was furnished with redundant fittings and materials from the old Brighton Aquarium; in June 1939 the grandstands were extended. In 1976 the track was purchased by the leisure group Corals and considerable improvements have been made, including the addition of a computerised tote, and a squash and badminton centre in October 1978. There are now two grandstands; the Orchard Road Stand is the popular enclosure, while the Main Stand fronts Nevill Road and houses a 400-seat restaurant. Up to 5,000 race-goers can now be accommodated.

The track is now one of the country's leading greyhound stadia, but it has hosted many other events in addition to racing. Many first division football teams (and the England team) used the stadium for training prior to important cup-ties in the 1930s, '40s and '50s, and athletics, football, horse shows, military tattoos, boxing matches, American football and rugby have all been staged; All Black, Wallaby and Springbok rugby tourists have all played here. Speedway was rejected following noise tests in September 1976 and May 1977, however. In July 1962 the stadium was visited by Queen Elizabeth II. The adjacent Brighton Co-operative Society superstore opened on 11 June 1986.

The track holds the world speed record for a greyhound on a four-corner course, set on 4 May 1982 by 'Glen Miner' over a 563-yard race at an average 38.89 m.p.h. In front of a crowd of over 8,000 on 9 December 1986, 'Ballyregan Bob' set a new world record of thirty-two successive victories. The record attendance at the stadium was approximately 20,000 for the Canadian Army Athletic Championships during World War Two.

Any numerical cross-references in the text above refer to resources in the Sources and Bibliography section of the Encyclopaedia of Brighton by Tim Carder.

The following resource(s) is quoted as a general source for the information above: {100,123,299}