Swindon Stadium

The stadium is home to the Swindon Robins, who compete in the Elite League; the speedway track has a circumference of 363 metres.[3]

The stadium opened to the public on 23 July 1949 when it hosted the Swindon Robins speedway team; greyhound racing followed three years later on 1 November 1952.[4] Swindon had already experienced two short-lived greyhound track venues, in the village of Wroughton and near the town centre in Edinburgh Street, but both had disappeared by the mid-thirties.[5] The stadium occupied a rural setting south of Lady Lane and was named after the Blunsdon Abbey estate in Blunsdon St Andrew, a Victorian estate which had seen its main house destroyed by fire in 1904.

The track initially raced as an independent with 2,000 people attending on 1 November 1952 to watch a greyhound called Don't Care win a 324 yard race in a time of 19.02 secs at odds of 6-1.[6] [7] The stadium came into the hands of the Bristol Greyhound Racing Association, owners of Oxford and Eastville (Bristol) stadiums at that time. This led to the track becoming part of the National Greyhound Racing Club during April 1968. The Silver Plume competition arrived the same year as the track's principal event. [8] Another independent track to the northwest of Swindon opened during the sixties at Common Platt but had little effect on the business of its larger neighbour.[9]

In 1983 ADT (British Car Auctions) purchased the Abbey Stadium and used its large car park as a base for their sales. Other competitions at the track were the Grand National of the West, Pride of the West and the Jubilee Stakes.[10] In 1997 the BS Group sold their Eastville stadium and bought Swindon from ADT. The entire Bristol operation including the racing office, bookmakers, trainers, the Western Two Year Old Produce Stakes and the BAGS contract transferred to Swindon.[11]

The BS Group became Stadia UK and then Gaming International, and after the closure of Walthamstow stadium in 2008 the track hosted the Arc competition. In 2018 the stadium signed a deal with ARC to race a Monday, Wednesday and Friday matinée meeting every week.[12]

Also in 2018 the Arc competition was discontinued due to expected track changes but following the sudden closure of Towcester, leading owner John Turner stepped in to save the Oaks with a late scheduling in December.[13]

The owners, Gaming International, were granted outline planning permission in 2008 to build houses on part of the site and replace the stadium with a new 'state of the art' stadium. After several revisions, outline permission was again granted in 2015, for up to 100 houses and a care home.[14] Work began in November 2016 with construction of the stadium due to complete in June 2017.[15] Following a significant delay the revised project was due to get underway in January 2018.[16]

During 2019 the original plans to re-position the track were changed and the track was reduced in circumference from 463 metres (which used to be one of the largest in the United Kingdom) by creating two new bends inside the old circumference. The 509 race distance was scrapped.[17] The alleged prefabricated buildings that have been built to replace the existing buildings are still to be moved on site. The local council have refused any further housing additions until progress is made with replacing the existing buildings.[18]

Current

Former (post-metric) [25]

Former (pre-metric)

• Official site
• British Greyhound Racing Board