St Anne's Road Greyhound Stadium
Blackpool, Lancashire, England
St Anne's Road Greyhound Stadium, Blackpool, England — opened 1927, 182 rugby league games hosted, home of None (defunct; historic home of Blackpool Borough RLFC, 1954-1962/63).
Sourcing caveat: This is a genuinely separate, earlier ground from the already-written-up Borough Park (Blackpool) - not an alternate name for it. Blackpool Borough played here from 1954 until the site was sold for housing in 1962, then moved into the newly built Borough Park from 1963. Both sources found agree the club's headline attendance records (12,015 for the 1955 draw with the touring Kiwis; 22,000 for a 1957 Challenge Cup tie with Leigh) were actually set at Bloomfield Road, Blackpool FC's shared football ground, not at this greyhound stadium - that figure has deliberately been left out of this write-up to avoid repeating the same mix-up flagged on the Borough Park entry. No capacity figure specific to rugby league days was found beyond the general 'up to around 8,000 for cup ties' description.
Ground facts
| Opened | 1927 |
| Home club | None (defunct; historic home of Blackpool Borough RLFC, 1954-1962/63) |
| Closed | 30 October 1964 (greyhound racing ceased; the site had already been sold for housing in 1962) |
| Demolished | yes, for housing |
| Site today | Semi-detached housing, including a street named Stadium Avenue, off St Anne's Road, Blackpool |
| Games hosted (rugby league, on record) | 182 |
| Top recorded crowd | 12,502 |
| Capacity | Up to around 8,000 for cup fixtures (opening-day crowd for greyhound racing was 5,000) |
| First rugby league match | Blackpool Borough turned professional and joined the Rugby League for the 1954-55 season, playing their first away at The Weaste, Salford (14 August 1954) before hosting fixtures at St Anne's Road |
| Last rugby league match | The club left after the stadium was sold for housing in April 1962, moving to the newly built Borough Park, which opened 31 August 1963 |
| Years used | 1954–1963 |
| Location | Blackpool, Lancashire |
Name history
- St Anne's Road Stadium / Blackpool Greyhound Stadium — 30 July 1927-30 October 1964
Rugby league history
Built on former grazing land within the old Blackpool Racecourse boundary and set back from St Anne's Road near the Blackpool Airport site, this greyhound track opened on 30 July 1927 and operated under various operating companies (initially British Greyhounds Sports Club, then Blackpool Greyhound Racing and Sports Company from 1929), moving between NGRC and independent status over the years. When Blackpool Borough turned professional and joined the Rugby League for 1954-55, they shared this track for their home rugby league fixtures - Northern Rugby League, Challenge Cup and Lancashire Cup matches are recorded here from August 1954 through the 1958-59 season, against clubs including St Helens, Leigh, Warrington, Wigan and the touring 1955 New Zealand Kiwis. The narrow pitch, constrained by the greyhounds' hare rail, was a recurring problem. The stadium was sold for housing in April 1962, prompting Blackpool Borough's move to the purpose-built Borough Park (first match 31 August 1963); greyhound racing itself continued at St Anne's Road until the track finally closed on 30 October 1964.
Primarily a greyhound racing track for its whole 1927-1964 life; rugby league was a co-tenant only from 1954 to 1962/63.
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
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