Speedway Roadtrip #8 - Birmingham Perry Barr

Grab your favourite WulfSport jacket and come with me to Perry Barr Stadium in Birmingham, home of the Brummies for another Speedway Roadtrip.

The stadium was originally built for the Birchfield Harriers athletics club and opened on July 27, 1929. It was initially known as the Alexander Sports Ground. Interestingly, the façade of the stadium still displays the Birchfield Harriers' badge, a running stag, in an Art Deco style bas-relief. The site itself was previously a rubbish tip, with cinders from a local power station used as the base for the track.

Beyond athletics, the stadium also hosted other sports in its early days, including cycle races by the Birchfield Cycling Club and, from the mid-1930s, dirt-track racing (speedway) by the Sunbac Speedway Club. Aston Villa Football Club's second and third teams also used the stadium for training in the 1930s and 40s.

During World War II, the stadium was requisitioned by the government for use by the Home Guard and later housed Italian prisoners of war until January 1946. Post-war, it saw significant moments in athletics history, including the first floodlit athletics meeting in the UK in 1948, and in 1954, Diane Leather became the first woman to run a mile in less than 5 minutes at the ground.

Transition to Greyhound Racing and Speedway:
In 1977, Birchfield Harriers moved to the newly built Alexander Stadium nearby, and the old venue was officially renamed "Perry Barr Stadium." Greyhound racing was reintroduced to the stadium in 1990, following the closure of the original Perry Barr greyhound track on Walsall Road in 1984. The stadium was quickly adapted for greyhound racing and became a prominent venue for the sport.

In 2007, the stadium was expanded to accommodate a speedway track, becoming the home of the Birmingham Brummies speedway team.