View source for Athletic Ground (Cobridge)

{{Short description|Demolished stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, England}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2022}}
{{Infobox venue
| name                = Cobridge Athletic Ground
| nickname            =
| image               = Cobridge Greyhound Stadium c.1950.png
| caption             = Pictured circa.1950
| fullname            = Cobridge Athletic Ground and Stadium
| location            = [[Cobridge]], [[Stoke-on-Trent]], [[England]]
| coordinates         =
| broke_ground        =
| built               =
| opened              = 4 September 1886<ref name="Kent1" />
| renovated           =
| expanded            =
| closed              =
| demolished          = 1991<ref name="cycle" />
| owner               =
| operator            =
| surface             = [[Grass]]
| construction_cost   = [[Pound sterling|£]]1,500<ref name="Kent1" />
| architect           =
| structural engineer =
| services engineer   =
| general_contractor  =
| project_manager     =
| main_contractors    =
| former_names        =
| tenants             = [[Port Vale F.C.]] (1886–1913)<br>Albion Greyhounds Ltd (1932–54)<br>Independent Greyhounds (1982–91)
| capacity            =
| dimensions          = {{convert|115|yd}} by {{convert|75|yd}}<ref name="Kent1" />
| scoreboard          =
}}
The '''Athletic Ground''' also known as '''Cobridge Stadium''' was a football stadium and [[Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom|greyhound racing]] stadium, located in [[Cobridge]], [[Stoke-on-Trent]].<ref name="Licensed Tracks">{{cite web|url=http://www.greyhoundracinghistory.co.uk/englishlicencedtracks.html|title=Licensed Tracks|publisher=greyhoundracinghistory.co.uk|access-date=4 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924023722/http://www.greyhoundracinghistory.co.uk/englishlicencedtracks.html|archive-date=24 September 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Football==
The ground was home to [[Port Vale F.C.|Port Vale]] for 27 years and hosted twelve [[English Football League|Football League]] seasons.
[[File:Athletic Ground attendances.JPG|thumb|left|400px|Average attendances, 1886–1913.]]
It was located opposite the church on Waterloo Road, directly on the [[Hanley, Staffordshire|Hanley]] and [[Burslem]] tram line.<ref name="Kent1">{{cite book|last=Kent|first=Jeff|title=The Valiants' Years: The Story of Port Vale|publisher=Witan Books|year=1990|pages=4–25|chapter=In the Beginning (1777–1888)|isbn=0-9508981-4-7}}</ref> The {{convert|7|acre}} site was obtained from the Sandbach Charity on a 21-year lease.<ref name="Kent1" /> It was surrounded by a {{convert|430|yd}} cinder track for [[Sport of athletics|athletics]] and cycling, hence the name. On the north side was a 1,000-capacity grandstand, three shower baths and a gymnasium.<ref name="Kent1" />
They left the stadium for [[The Old Recreation Ground]] in 1913, and it was demolished in the 1980s after decades of use for amateur football.<ref name="cycle">{{cite web|url=http://www.port-vale.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10381~1627870,00.html |title=COMMUNITY CYCLE RIDE |date=15 April 2009 |work=port-vale.co.uk |access-date=16 December 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525150732/http://www.port-vale.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0%2C%2C10381~1627870%2C00.html |archive-date=25 May 2011 }}</ref> A [[Mercedes (marque)|Mercedes]] garage was later built near the site.<ref>{{cite news|last=Sherwin|first=Phil|title=Non-league football for Stoke and the Valiants|newspaper=[[The Sentinel (Staffordshire)|The Sentinel]]|date=14 April 2012}}</ref>
{{clear}}
==Greyhound Racing==
===Origins===
In 1932, a [[Glasgow]] company called Albion Greyhounds affiliated to the [[National Greyhound Racing Club|National Greyhound Racing Society]] formed Albion Greyhounds (Stoke) Ltd by raising £40,000 capital in [[Pound sterling|£]]1 shares. A greyhound track and associated facilities were constructed around the [[Football pitch|pitch]] and would become the second track in [[Stoke-on-Trent]] to open after [[Hanley Greyhound Stadium]].<ref name=Sent>{{cite news|title=New greyhound Racing Track, Monday 18 July|year=1932|newspaper=Evening Sentinel}}</ref>
===Opening===
Racing got underway on 19 July 1932 at 7.30 pm with W.W.Colonel Dobson waving the flag for the first race; the winner was Silent Marble, a one-length winner from The Padre in a time of 29.50 secs over {{convert|480|yd}}. All races were over 480 yards with winners times ranging from 28.65 to 30.29. The [[Tote board|all-electric totalisator]] comprised 31 issuing machines. General Manager Brigadier-General Frank Logan decided not to have track bookmakers, which would backfire when the government restricted their use later in the year.<ref name=Sent/>
===Pre [[World War II|war]] history===
The ban on totes forced the track to close its doors for three months before re-opening with track bookmakers in December 1932. Racing would be held on Friday and Saturday evenings, with former Albion Glasgow Racing Manager Major J.S.Woolley taking up the same position at Stoke.<ref name=HT>{{cite book|last=Tarter|first=P Howard|title=Greyhound Racing Encyclopedia|year=1949|publisher=Fleet Publishing Company Ltd}}</ref>
===Post war history===
After the war, the circuit was {{convert|428|yd}} in circumference with long {{convert|125|yd}} straights and a good run-up, but bends were described as very sharp. The Outside M.S Cable hare system was in operation with distances of {{convert|280|yd}}, {{convert|500|yd}} and {{convert|650|yd}} being used.<ref name=HT/> The north covered stand was called the popular enclosure with a licensed club next to it, and there was also a smaller south covered stand with an enclosure separating a further covered popular enclosure and licensed club. The hare control was usually between the first and second bends, but the small judge's box was directly next to the winning line.<ref name=HT/> The racing kennels were well back behind a third covered popular enclosure on the third bend, and the 250 resident kennels were situated in countryside surroundings at [[Trentham, Staffordshire|Trentham]], {{convert|7|mi}} from the stadium.<ref name=HT/>
===First Closure===
Attendances in the area during the 1950s decreased, resulting in the closure of the stadium by the Albion Greyhound Company. The final meeting was on 1 October 1954.<ref name=DM>{{cite book|last=Barnes|first=Julia|title=Daily Mirror Greyhound Fact File|year=1988|publisher=Ringpress Books|isbn=0-948955-15-5}}</ref>
===Re-Opening and final closure===
The stadium had remained intact and was used as a sports stadium afterwards. Greyhound racing seemed unlikely to return following the start of racing at the nearby [[Loomer Road Stadium|Chesterton Greyhound Stadium]] in 1975. However, Aclecourt Ltd re-opened the stadium to independent racing (unaffiliated to a governing body) on 24 July 1982.<ref name=DM/> After another closure, a further reopening took place in April 1985 by the Andrews family.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s)/no by-line.--> |issue=4 |volume=16 |date=4 April 1998 |title=All Those Aprils |work=Greyhound Star}}</ref>
The lease would change hands several times before the council sold the site for housing in 1991, with the last meeting held on 17 September 1991.<ref>{{cite news|title=Closures and openings over the past ten years, July 1993, page 18|year=1993|newspaper=Greyhound Star}}</ref> The redevelopment included the Greyhound Way and Stadium Court.<ref name=DM/>
===Track records===
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 100%"
|-
!width=50| Distance <br>yards
!width=200| Greyhound
!width=50| Time
!width=100| Date
|-align=center
|280||	Highland Tom	||15.96	||1947
|-align=center
|500||	Novices Handicap	||28.25	||1947
|}
==Midget Car Racing==
A dirt track staging Midget car or "Speedway Car" racing ran from June 1939 for around two months before the outbreak of the Second World War, seemingly replacing the racing at Stoke's Hanley stadium.
The opening meeting at Cobridge was on 29 June 1939.  The short-lived team were called the Cobridge Tigers.
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Port Vale F.C.}}
{{English greyhound tracks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Athletic Ground}}
[[Category:Sports venues completed in 1886]]
[[Category:Defunct football venues in England]]
[[Category:Demolished buildings and structures in Staffordshire]]
[[Category:Port Vale F.C.]]
[[Category:Sports venues in Stoke-on-Trent]]
[[Category:English Football League venues]]
[[Category:Defunct greyhound racing venues in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Sports venues demolished in 1991]]