County Ground Stadium

The County Ground Stadium was a rugby union, greyhound racing and speedway stadium in Exeter, Devon.

This article is about the former rugby union, speedway and greyhound racing venue in Exeter. For other uses, see County Ground (disambiguation).

County Ground Stadium
LocationExeter, Devon
Coordinates50°42′52″N 3°32′30″W
Capacity5,200
Opened1930
Closed2006

It was one of two separate venues in Exeter known as the County Ground, along with the still-used County Cricket Ground. It is also not to be confused with the Exeter Greyhound Stadium in Marsh Barton that also held greyhound racing and speedway.

Origins

It was situated south of Cowick Street in the St Thomas Ward. The ground was formerly called the Devon County Athletic Ground.

Greyhound racing

Independent (unaffiliated to a governing body) greyhound racing took place at the County Ground Stadium.[1]

The opening meeting was held on Saturday 13 December 1930 and the track had a 370-yard circumference with race distances over 250, 440, 620 and 810 metres. The track was described as a tight circuit with an almost square shaped track.[2] Main competitions included the Spring Cup, Derby and St Leger and they had an 'Inside Sumner' hare system.[3]

Speedway
Main article: Exeter Falcons

Exeter Falcons speedway took place from 1947 until 2005.

Rugby Union

In September 1905, the County Ground staged the opening match of the New Zealand rugby team's first-ever British tour, against the Devon County XV. New Zealand's "All Blacks" nickname was first coined in media reports of their shock 55–4 victory over Devon.[4]

Closure

It was the home ground of Exeter Rugby Club (latterly Exeter Chiefs) prior to their move to Sandy Park in 2006. Bellway Homes built 150 houses on the site shortly afterwards.[5]

References
  1. "OS Plan 1967-1968". old-maps.co.uk.
  2. Furby, R (1968). Independent Greyhound Racing. New Dominion House. p. 88.
  3. Barnes, Julia (1988). Daily Mirror Greyhound Fact File. Ringpress Books. ISBN 0-948955-15-5.
  4. Keating, Frank (3 November 2010). "How the original All Blacks went down in the annals of history". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  5. "History". Exeter Chiefs. Archived from the original on 20 December 2015. Retrieved 16 May 2015.


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