Somerton Park was a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

greyhound racing Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around an oval track. The sport originates from Hare coursing, coursing. Track racing uses an artificial lure (usually a form of windsock) that travels ahead of th ...

and

speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Daytona International Speedway, a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida. *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta. *Indianapolis Motor Spe ...

stadium in Newport, South Wales.

Football

In April 1912, Newport County had been accepted to play in the Southern League for the 1912–13 season. Shortly afterwards, the site for the ground was obtained by the club's chairman Bert Moss. The stadium was nearly sold for housing in June 1919, but it was bought and transferred to a committee of employees from the steel works operated by John Lysaght and Co.. In September 1963, the stadium was put up for sale by the greyhound racing owners and Newport County appealed to the Newport Council for a £30,000 loan to help to buy the ground from them. It remained the home of Newport County through many reformations until the club went bankrupt on 27 February 1989. County's 77 years at the stadium had brought many highs and lows, the most notable being the

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup (), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the most prestigious of the cup competitions ...

and Fourth Division promotion triumph in

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

and the

European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...

quarter-final appearance in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

, but the final few years brought the trauma of two successive relegations which saw the club lose its

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

status after 68 years, and finally go out of business on 27 February 1989. County were members of the

Football Conference The National League of English Football Clubs is a professional Association football, football league in England that consists of 72 teams, divided equally between the National League (division), National League North and National League South ...

that season but their bankruptcy saw them expelled from that league for being unable to fulfill their fixtures. The club was again reformed within four months and began the 1989–90 season as a Hellenic League side. The new club's first season was spent in

Moreton-in-Marsh Moreton-in-Marsh is a market town in the Evenlode Valley, within the Cotswolds district and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Gloucestershire, England. Its flat and low-lying site is surrounded by the Cotswold Hills. The River Evenlode r ...

, followed by two seasons at Somerton Park, the next two seasons were played in

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

before finally settling at the newly built

Newport Stadium Newport Stadium, also known as Spytty Park, is an association football, Rugby football, rugby and Sport of athletics, athletics stadium in Newport, Wales, Newport, South Wales. It is the home of Gwalia United F.C., Gwalia United FC, Newport City ...

for the 1994–95 season, where the club played their home matches until moving to

Rodney Parade Rodney Parade is a stadium in the city of Newport, South Wales. It is located on the east bank of the River Usk in Newport city centre. The ground is on Rodney Road, a short walk from the city's central bus and railway stations via Newport Bri ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

. By 1993, Somerton Park had been redeveloped as a housing estate. The stadium's record attendance was 24,268 for a

Football League Third Division South The Third Division South of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to ...

match between County and arch-rivals

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

on 16 October 1937.

Speedway

The stadium was home to the

Newport Wasps Newport Wasps were a British motorcycle speedway team based at Somerton Park and then the Hayley Stadium in Newport, Wales, Newport, South Wales, from 1964 to 2012. The Wasps logo incorporates the traditional black and amber colours of the City ...

speedway team between 1964 and 1977, attracting some the biggest names in the sport. The tight track meant that turf had to be brought on to make the corner flag area for football matches and removed once the match had finished.

Greyhound racing

Origins

Following the success of the greyhound racing at

Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park (), also known as The Arms Park, is primarily a rugby union stadium, and also has a bowling green. It is situated in Cardiff, Wales, next to the Millennium Stadium. The Arms Park was host to the 1958 British Empire and Common ...

which opened in 1927, the Arms Park Greyhound Racing Company Limited decided to construct another track around the football pitch at Somerton Park. On 17 November 1932, the first greyhound meeting took place at the stadium. The track was one of fifty affiliated to the National Greyhound Racing Society (NGRS) in 1932 and would run under

National Greyhound Racing Club The National Greyhound Racing Club was an organisation that governed Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom Greyhound racing is a sport in the United Kingdom. The industry uses a parimutuel betting tote system with on-course and off-course be ...

. The same Arms Park greyhound trainers would also supply the greyhounds for the Somerton Park; the kennels of the trainers were based at nearby being kennelled at

Cefn Mably Cefn Mably () is a district located approximately 6 miles north of Cardiff city centre and 5 miles south-east of Caerphilly. It's mostly within the city and county of Cardiff but is also partly within the Caerphilly County Borough. Notable Buil ...

. The principal event was the Monmouthshire Stakes and the circumference of the track was 384 yards with small straights of 60 yards but wide sweeping bends. Race distances were 450, 600, and 640 yards and there was a glass fronted enclosure above the grandstand for viewing the racing. The venue was popular and the management formed a close relationship with the football team for over thirty years. The twice-weekly meetings were held every Tuesday and Friday. During the early 1960s, the venue began to experience lower attendances and by 1963, the decision was taken to close the track. An attendance of just 700 gathered to witness the final night's racing. The last race resulted in a no race when the traps opened too soon and the greyhounds charged around the track without the hare. Len Davies, secretary at Somerton Park, told a local newspaper: "Some of the best dogs in the country have raced at Somerton Park. Perhaps the best of them all was Antarctica, a white bitch which set a track 450 yards record in a Somerton Stakes heat in 1958".''

Competitions

* Monmouthshire Stakes

Football

Speedway

Greyhound racing

Origins

Competitions

Track records

References

See also