Shawfield Stadium

Shawfield Stadium is a venue in the Shawfield district of the town of Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located close to the boundary with Glasgow.
Originally a football ground, Shawfield was home to Clyde F.C. from 1898 to 1986. Greyhound racing was introduced in 1932, and the stadium hosted the Scottish Greyhound Derby from 1970 to 1985 and from 1989 to 2019. The Glasgow Tigers speedway team were also based there, from 1988 to 1995 and 1997 to 1998, with the Scottish Monarchs also racing there in 1996. Other sports including boxing and athletics were also staged at Shawfield.
On 19 March 2020, an announcement was made to suspend racing because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the following two years the majority of trainers moved their greyhounds to other venues as the track became derelict. During October 2022, the stadium's owner Billy King died, ending the likelihood of it ever reopening.

Greyhound Racing

Competitions

Scottish Greyhound Derby
St Mungo Cup
Opening

John Bilsland helped instigate the plans to open Shawfield in his home town and brought the greyhounds to the home of Clyde F.C. The football club had been based at the stadium since it opened in 1898 but were experiencing financial difficulties by 1930 resulting in the need to find new income streams. The club had tried previously to allow greyhound racing to take place at Shawfield but the Football league was opposed to the idea. Finally an agreement was reached with the chairman John McMahon and the Shawfield Greyhound Racing Company Ltd was born.
The track opened on 14 November 1932 in the North Rutherglen area of Glasgow and was a big galloping circuit of 473 yards with 125-yard straights with well banked bends and it became a very popular venue. When Shawfield opened for racing the city of Glasgow already hosted four other National Greyhound Racing Society affiliated tracks in Albion, Carntyne, White City and Firhill. In addition there were the independent tracks of Clydeholm, Coatbridge and Mount Vernon which totalled eight tracks in Glasgow at the time.
The first recorded winner was 'Swordmanship' receiving six yards in a 303-yard handicap race, the time was 18.45 sec. The SGRC bought the stadium from Clyde FC in 1935.

History

After the war had finished the SGRC was valued at £4,000 in 1946 by the taxman but the figure proposed by the owners was only £600 resulting in a dispute. As with most tracks at the time Glasgow experienced a profitable spell during the early fifties but both Albion and Firhill were closed to greyhound racing by the end of the decade. White City had shut by 1962 and in 1968 Carntyne was the latest track to close their doors which had a knock on effect for Shawfield. With the Scottish Greyhound Derby left without a home there were only two tracks big enough to host the event, Powderhall Stadium or Shawfield. The copyright of the Scottish Derby was held by the Greyhound Racing Association and they decided that Shawfield could host the 1970 Scottish Derby. Jim Layton was Racing Manager at the time and one year later the track also received another prestigious former Carntyne competition called the St Mungo Cup.
A fire at the track resulted in significant damage to public facilities. To combat this an investment program that included a state of the art totalisator system, ray timing and photo finish equipment was planned and this period also saw the GRA arrive on the scene as they acquired the track under their GRA Property Trust. The track made the National Intertrack final in 1976.
In 1983, the stadium came on the open market and in 1984 the GRA looked to have agreed a deal to sell to Asda bur planning permission was refused. During 1986, Clyde FC were given notice to leave and in May 1986 planning permission for houses was refused. The stadium shut down on 25 October 1986. Supporters of the track campaigned to prevent its closure and, with the help of Billy McAllister, a former bookie, Racing Manager and racing reporter at the track, the Shawfield Action Group was formed. An 8,000 strong petition helped stave planning permission and there was some good news when a business consortium bought the track instead of the expected developers. On 11 June 1987 the track re-opened under the Shawfield Greyhound Racing and Leisure Company Ltd. In 1988, the GRA lost their rights to the Scottish Derby following the sale of Powderhall and the Scottish Derby returned to its Glasgow roots. The management which included Robert Lithgow, had already re-introduced the St Mungo Cup and William King Cup. A £100,000 facelift completed the takeover.
Billy King continued to ply his trade as a bookmaker and in late 2001 the Shawfield Greyhound Racing and Leisure Company Ltd became the Shawfield Greyhound Stadium Ltd. The large tote board which dominated the south end of the track was demolished in 2004.

Demise and closure

It was the last remaining licensed track in Scotland until its closure in 2020. The venue then remained unused for two years following the COVID-19 pandemic. In October 2022 the owner Billy King died of a suspected heart attack. Following his death, no further plans to reopen the stadium were announced. It had previously been reported that the owners were considering redevelopment of the site for housing, pending the results of an environmental report investigating potential land contamination.
In October 2023, plans were unveiled for the redevelopment of the site, involving the demolition of the stadium and its replacement with a mixed use development including housing and retail.

Track records

At closing

Metres	Greyhound	Time	Date	Notes
300	Ravage Again	17.35	7 April 1990
480	Droopys Buick	28.63	2 April 2016	Scottish Greyhound Derby semi final
500	Droopys Sandy	29.39	21 May 1994	Scottish Greyhound Derby Final
500 hurdles	Face The Mutt	31.07	25 May 1982
670	Crack of the Ash	40.50	11 September 1993
730	Decoy Princess	45.09	20 February 1988
882	Rosemoor Flower	56.55	13 April 2002
932	Silken Dancer	59.35	2 September 1993

Former

Yards	Greyhound	Time	Date	Notes
300	Montforte Louis	16.45	30 July 1965
300	Bright Lad	16.60	27.05.1970
303	S M Rob Roy		c.1950
303	Special Intention	16.43	5 July 1950
500	Clane Flirt	27.88	06.08.1945
550	Rushton Smutty	27.60	16.07.1951
525	Fin Machree	29.07	21.07.1947
525	Biddys Fire	28.75	27.07.1964
535	Killone Flash	29.63	10.05.1971
700	Mad Midnight	39.88	1946	World Record
700	Our Tansy	39.53	12.07.1947
500 H	Minorcas Glass	28.75	18.05.1956
525 H	Morganstown View	30.30	08.08.1958