The Boulevard (stadium)

The Boulevard

The Boulevard in May 2006
Full name	The Boulevard
Location	Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England
Coordinates	53°44′22″N0°22′9″W / 53.73944°N 0.36917°W / 53.73944; -0.36917
Capacity	10,500
Record attendance	21,504 - Great Britain vs Australia, 5 November 1921
Construction
Built	1895
Opened	1895
Closed	2009
Demolished	2010
Tenants
Hull F.C. (1895–2002) Hull Vikings Hull KR (1892–1895)

The Boulevard was a multi-purpose stadium in Hull, England, from 1895 to 2010. The venue primarily hosted rugby league matches, speedway and greyhound racing. ^[1]

History

Rugby league

Looking north towards the backs of houses on Carrington Street

In the past the ground was used mostly for rugby league matches and was the home stadium of Hull F.C. before the opening of KC Stadium. The main entrance was on Airlie Street, giving rise to Hull FC's nickname as 'the Airlie Birds'. When it closed, the stadium's capacity was 10,500 people.

The Boulevard also hosted four matches in various Rugby League World Cups, as well as tour matches between Hull and visiting nations such as Australia and New Zealand. The ground had a strong connection with the city's former fishing industry being not far from Hessle Road.

Test Matches

List of rugby league Test and World Cup matches played at the Boulevard. ^[2]

Test No.	Date	Result	Attendance	Notes
1	5 November 1921	Australia def   Great Britain 16–2	21,504	1921–22 Ashes series
2	13 November 1927	England def   New Zealand 21–11	7,000	1926–27 England vs New Zealand series
3	25 October 1970	New Zealand def   France 16–15	3,824	1970 Rugby League World Cup Group Stage
4	6 March 1983	Great Britain def   France 17–5	6,055	1983 Great Britain vs France series
5	7 March 1992	Great Britain def   France 36–0	5,250	1989-1992 Rugby League World Cup Group Stage
6	10 October 1995	Papua New Guinea drew with   Tonga 28–28	5,121	1995 Rugby League World Cup Group B
7	23 October 1999	England def   France 50–20	3,068	1999 Anglo-French Challenge
8	4 November 2000	Australia def.   Russia 110–4	3,044	2000 Rugby League World Cup Group 1

Tour Matches

Other than Hull F.C. club games, The Boulevard also saw Hull and the county team Yorkshire and a combined Hull F.C. and Hull Kingston Rovers XIII play host to international touring teams from Australia (sometimes playing as Australasia) and New Zealand from 1907 to 2002. New Zealand did play Hull F.C. as part of their 1980 tour of Great Britain and France, though that game was played at Boothferry Park.

Game	Date	Result	Attendance	Notes
1	16 November 1907	New Zealand def. Hull F.C. 18–13		1907–08 All Golds tour
2	5 November 1908	Australia def. Yorkshire 24–11	3,500	1908–09 Kangaroo Tour
3	30 January 1909	Hull F.C. def. Australia 9–8	10,000
4	4 November 1911	Australasia def. Hull F.C. 26–7	6,000	1911–12 Kangaroo tour
5	24 December 1921	Australasia def. Hull F.C. 26–10	12,000	1921–22 Kangaroo tour
6	4 November 1929	Australia def. Hull F.C. 35–2	10,000	1929–30 Kangaroo tour
7	25 December 1933	Australia def. Hull F.C. 19–5	16,341	1933–34 Kangaroo tour
8	23 October 1937	Australia def. Hull F.C. 22–12	15,000	1937–38 Kangaroo tour
9	23 September 1948	Australia def. Hull F.C. 13–3	16,616	1948–49 Kangaroo tour
10	8 September 1952	Australia def. Hull F.C. 28–0	15,364	1952–53 Kangaroo tour
11	15 October 1956	Australia def. Hull F.C. / Hull KR XIII 37–14	17,172	1956–57 Kangaroo tour
12	26 October 1959	Australia def. Hull F.C. / Hull KR XIII 29–9	15,944	1959–60 Kangaroo tour
13	12 October 1963	Australia def. Hull F.C. / Hull KR XIII 23–10	10,481	1963–64 Kangaroo tour
14	29 October 1978	Australia def. Hull F.C. 34–2	10,723	1978 Kangaroo tour
15	16 November 1982	Australia def. Hull F.C. 13–7	16,049	1982 Kangaroo tour
16	16 November 1986	Australia def. Hull F.C. 48–0	8,213	1986 Kangaroo tour
17	14 November 1990	Australia def. Hull F.C. 34–4	13,081	1990 Kangaroo tour
18	22 October 2002	New Zealand def. Hull F.C. 28–11	12,092	2002 New Zealand Kiwis tour

Speedway

Main article: Hull Vikings

In 1971, promoter Ian Thomas brought back speedway to Hull for the first time since 1949. The Hull Vikings raced in the British League Division Two and it proved to be exceedingly popular with large crowds cheering on the team each Wednesday. ^[3] Hull had the dubious distinction of being the last league speedway team ever to appear at the famous West Ham Stadium, on 23 May 1972, when they beat the closing Hammers 40–38. Subsequent years saw their promotion to the first division and the inclusion of world champions Barry Briggs, Ivan Mauger and Egon Müller to ride for the team. Promotional changes, falling crowds and financial problems eventually saw the Vikings demise until their resurrection some years later at Hull's other rugby league and speedway stadium, Craven Park.

The Boulevard was also the host of the annual Yorkshire Television Trophy meeting during the 1970s, and early 1980s. With the British leagues home to not only the best British riders such as 1976 World Champion Peter Collins, 1980 World Champion Michael Lee, Dave Jessup and Malcolm Simmons, but also to many top class riders from around the world including World Champions Briggs, Mauger, Müller, Ole Olsen and Bruce Penhall, plus Billy Sanders, Dennis Sigalos, Shawn and Kelly Moran, and Phil Crump (the inaugural Yorkshire TV Trophy winner in 1974), the meetings often attracted fields which were as good in quality as many World Finals.

The 380 metres (420 yards) long speedway track surrounded the rugby league field without intersecting it at the corners. This saw the Boulevard have fast, almost 100 metre long straights and tight bends. The run off the corners onto the straights was narrow due to the fence not following the curve of the track but being straight from back in the turns.

The ground consisted of three stands, the most popular being the Threepenny stand, where the majority of singing and chanting occurred. It was given its name when the stadium opened as it was 3  old pence for entry. In July 1985, Hull's threepenny stand closed for safety reasons. A plaque was unveiled on the 'new' threepenny stand some years ago by STAND and Hull FC.

Greyhound racing

1927–1934

The stadium first hosted greyhound racing in 1927 when the Associated Greyhound Racecourses Ltd promoted a meeting on 2 July. The track was soon to be one of three greyhound stadiums operating in Hull after two more followed suit, within one year Craven Park stadium had opened and in 1934 the Craven Street track opened but the latter was short lived. ^[4]

The football team moved out after finding a new home at Boothferry Park in August 1947 and the greyhound racing soon followed after coming to an end on 11 December 1948. Despite the Boulevard being considerably bigger than Craven Park the difference in popularity and tote turnover was significant. In 1947 the tote turnover of Craven Park was £578,628 compared to the Boulevard's £23,263. ^[5]

2003–2009

Greyhound track at The Boulevard c. 2003

In 2003 Hull F.C. found a new ground at the KC Stadium joining up with the football team and putting the stadium under imminent threat of closure. The greyhound operation had just finished at the New Craven Park and transferred to the Boulevard saving the stadium from closure. ^[6] The track was constructed with a circumference of 387 metres and distances of 270, 460, 655 and 845 metres. Racing started in December 2003 with Friday and Saturday night racing under the supervision of Racing Manager, David Gray.

After the council refused to extend the greyhound racing lease the stadium remained unused until 25 October 2007 when it reopened again for the first time in 28 months. Racing changed to Thursday and Saturday nights and Mick Smith was brought in as Racing Manager.

Track records

Extended content

Distance metres Greyhound Time Date 270 Top Matt 16.92 6 December 2003 [7] 270 Killavarrig Ruby 16.53 29 October 2004 270 Centenarys Pass 16.37 21 November 2004 270 Ballymac Charley 16.36 22 December 2007 270 Bradford Lad 16.35 4 October 2008 460 Hesley Nikita 29.06 27 December 2003 460 Pamelas Nikita 29.03 27 December 2003 460 Thorsman 28.87 17 January 2004 460 Malton Merlin 28.75 14 February 2004 460 Pamelas Pride 28.51 28 February 2004 460 Quiet Chant 28.46 24 April 2004 [7] 460 Parkview Dot 28.38 27 December 2004 460 Zero to Hero 28.28 10 September 2005 460 Rushmoor Major 28.27 3 November 2007 460 Stevens Court 28.15 22 December 2007 460 Linfit Robert 28.02 22 December 2007 460 Tango Star 28.02 2 February 2008 460 Rossacredibility 27.85 9 February 2008 655 Split the Pack 41.06 30 May 2004 [7] 845 Tipp the Breeze 55.30 10 November 2007 847 Bernis Emma 55.46 25 July 2004 [7]

Other uses

The stadium has also been used for football with Hull City A.F.C. using the ground at times for their home matches.

Closure and demolition

On 17 June 2009 it was announced that the Boulevard would close to greyhound racing once again after less than 2 years. After going to once a week racing, promoter Dave Marshall pulled the plug on funding for the stadium. ^[8] On 22 August 2010, BBC Humberside reported that the stadium was in the process of being demolished after a council inspection due to safety concerns. ^[9]

References

1. "Dogs back on track at Boulevard". BBC News Online . BBC. 25 October 2007. Retrieved 14 February 2008.
2. "The Boulevard results". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
3. "Speedway team will be Hull Kestrels" . Hull Daily Mail. 23 January 1971. Retrieved 4 May 2024– via British Newspaper Archive.
4. "Greyhounds, Saturday 13 October". Hull Daily Mail. 1934.
5. Particulars of Licensed tracks, table 1 Licensed Dog Racecourses. Licensing Authorities. 1947.
6. Hobbs, Jonathan (2003). Greyhound Annual 2004. Raceform. p. 158. ISBN   1-904317-21-9.
7. Hobbs, Jonathan (2004). Greyhound Annual 2005. Raceform. p. 176. ISBN   1-904317-58-8.
8. "Hull to close Saturday". Racing Post . 25 June 2009. Archived from the original on 14 May 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
9. "Demolition work to begin on Hull FC's Boulevard stadium". BBC News Humberside. BBC. 22 August 2010. Retrieved 22 August 2010.