- Catford Stadium
Catford Stadium was a historic
greyhound track inCatford , a suburb ofLondon . It was open between 1932 and 2003, when it was closed by its commercial operator Wembley [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/3245015.stm BBC news item about closure] ] [ [http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/sport/article-7709688-details/Catford's+gone+to+the+dogs+/article.do;jsessionid=8QY7GtsWQz4qtV6vnSyzWlh41TdPv8Q1L1zTwL1WWsNDvz1Hw5Lh!823374612!-1407319225!7001!-1 This is London report] ] . The local amateur side,Catford Wanderers , were mooted to move into the stadium, though this dream was never realised. The stadium has caught on fire and has since been demolished, along with the scoreboard .Greyhound racing
In its heyday before the legalisation of bettings shops in the 1960s, the Stadium attracted large crowds, and celebrities such as
Henry Cooper ,Lester Piggott ,Lennox Lewis ,Frank Bruno andLeslie Grantham Adam Waller appeared to present trophies to the winners.Greyhound racing as a whole in the UK has been in terminal decline for several decades now, as there were once 33 greyhound stadiums alone in London, now only 4 are left (Crayford, Romford, Walthamstow and Wimbledon), with Walthamstow to close in August 2008.
Controversy
Before it closed the stadium was embroiled in controversy, when in 2001, a trainer Lennie Knell was caught on camera admitting overfeeding dogs to slow them down [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/kenyon_confronts/1681636.stm Overfeeding contoversy] ] , and again in 2002, when a greyhound named Football Focus died of heat exhaustion [http://bgrd.co.uk/ugo/Tom_Flaherty.htm] .
peedway
In 1934 several speedway meetings were held on a track constructed inside the dog track. In 1949 permission was sought to operate speedway from the stadium again but permission was refused. [Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). "Homes of British Speedway". ISBN 0-7524-2210-3]
Not to be confused with
The Mount stadium , another stadium inCatford .External links
* [http://www.derelictlondon.com/pictures_of_london_s_decaying_beauty.htm Pictures at Derelict London]
* [http://www.derelictlondon.com/id660.htm More Pictures]
* [http://www.thedogs.co.uk/index.php?m=aid&id=141 Catford Greyhound Racing History]References
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