Gone to the Dogs...

I did say .. “not forgotten” but this case there is little that is memorable! This cycle track in Bradford, West Yorkshire was on the inside of a greyhound track. By the time I first visited it was already closed and by the time I took these photos it was being demolished. Not that there was a lot left to demolish by then.
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The City Greyhound Stadium, situated off Legrams Lane, Princeville, Bradford opened on Monday 15 August 1932. And attracted a crowd of 4,000 to the opening greyhound meeting. After the war the Stadium was briefly featured in the 1958 film ‘Room at the Top’, which was adapted from the book by Bradford author John Braine. But a steady decline became a sudden stop through a serious fire in 1963. [from a brief history of the stadium]

The last greyhound meeting was held in 1965 and it is stated that “the greyhound track was converted in a banked velodrome”. But my recollection is that the cycle track was far from new in the mid-1960’s and that the greyhound track was still around the outside when these photos were taken [in 1966 I think].

My guess was the cycle track was as old has the rest of the stadium - and like the greyhound track it had noticeable slope. Certainly I never heard of any track racing there in the 1960’s - and so far I have not found any records of actual events.

So there certainly was a track - and one that was still just about rideable in 1965. But when it was used as a velodrome remains something of a mystery.

However there is sure to be someone out there that can fill this gap in the cycling archives.

Updates will be made if any info comes my way.