The grand opening attracted 8,000 people who saw a greyhound called Plunger win the first race.

Fifty-five meetings on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays were held in the inaugural year of 1927 overseen by Ford, and attendances fluctuated, but on several occasions there would be over 10,000 turning up to watch the new sport.

[6] In 1947 there was just under half a million pounds staked on the totalisator, a very significant sum but still dwarfed by local rival Eastville.

[7] Stan Raymond, Harry Sayers, John Rowe and Marshall were the main trainers during this popular era and into the 1950s.

In December 1960, speedway director Charles Foot announced that he had been told that the stadium was to be sold for re-development.