Harringay Arena was built and owned by Brigadier-General Alfred Critchley under the auspices of his private company, the Greyhound Racing Association Trust Ltd (GRA).

[3] Designed by Dr Oscar Faber,[4] the arena was a stark modernist octagonal-shaped building which borrowed heavily from Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

Its vast steel roof was constructed by Dorman Long & Co, who had recently been responsible for the Sydney Harbour Bridge and completed the new Wembley Stadium in 2007.

At an event shortly after its opening the Daily Herald reported that "claims that Harringay had solved its cold-feet problem were not quite substantiated.

This interruption proved very damaging to the sport's popularity and post-war audiences remained thin for the remainder of the Arena's life.

On 7 April 1938 Harringay was the venue for the first boxing match to be televised live when the full 15 rounds between Len Harvey v Jock McAvoy were broadcast.

The festival also featured the world-famous Manuel Rosenthal, who brought his Orchestre National de France to join Sir Thomas Beecham and the Royal Philharmonic in a concert that filled the Harringay Arena with 13,500 listeners A report in The Guardian on a classical music event in June of the following year said: Harringay Arena as a concert Hall is staggering.

The Albert Hall is a restless and limited thing by comparison.I passed turnstiles, barking stewards, ice-cream hawkers and bars stacked with sixpenny slices of pie.

Financed by British theatrical impresario Harold Fielding, the tour was a critical success, but high ticket prices kept the post-war audiences away.

[18] From 27 August to 1 September, along with Empress Hall, Earl's Court, Harringay Arena was the venue for a series of five gala performances by Alicia Markova, Anton Dolin and the Ballet Rambert.

[21] The 1952 circus included an elephant act with Sabu, the young Indian actor made famous by his appearance in films such as The Thief of Baghdad.

Despite running an impressive and broad ranging calendar of events from 1947 to 1958, the change in the fortunes of ice hockey in the UK and the straitened post-war circumstances meant limited commercial success for the Arena after the Second World War.

It was a sentimental occasion and promoter Jack Solomons headlined with a world-class lightweight fight between Dave Charnley and Carlos Ortiz (who was to go on to become world champion).

This evening we shall hear this great hall echo to cheers and see cigarette smoke swirl around the ring for the last time.