County Ground Stadium

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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
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
LocationExeter, Devon
Coordinates50°42′52″N 3°32′30″W / 50.71444°N 3.54167°W / 50.71444; -3.54167
Capacity5,200
Opened1930
Closed2006

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

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.[citation needed]

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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