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. The ground had a strong connection with the city's former fishing industry, being not far from Hessle Road.

History Rugby league

The Boulevard was mainly used 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 spectators.

The ground consisted of three stands, the most popular being the 4,000 capacity 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, following the Bradford City stadium fire, the Threepenny Stand was closed due to the stand being a wooden structure. Following club and fan appeals, the stand was partially reopened with a severely reduced capacity of 1,500 the following September, with fans only permitted to use the bottom four steps of concrete terracing. The Threepenny Stand was partially demolished ahead of the opening of a new stand in November 1990, an all-seater stand by order of Kingston upon Hull City Council under the recommendations of the Taylor Report, and the remaining quarter of the old stand was demolished in 1995 to facilitate a standing terrace extension to the new stand.

The final match of rugby league at The Boulevard was a 2003 Challenge Cup third round fixture between Skirlaugh A.R.L.F.C. and York City Knights on 26 January 2003, moved to The Boulevard due to Skirlaugh's home venue at the Twin Towers Sports Complex in Hedon not being able to support a larger capacity. York City Knights recorded their first ever win as a club by defeating Skirlaugh 20–8 in front of an attendance of 943 spectators.

Test matches The Boulevard also hosted four matches in various Rugby League World Cups, as well as various Test matches against visiting nations such as Australia and New Zealand: Test No. Date Result Attendance Notes1 5 November 1921 def 16–2 21,504 1921–22 Ashes series2 13 November 1927 England def 21–11 7,000 1926–27 England vs New Zealand series3 25 October 1970 def 16–15 3,824 1970 Rugby League World Cup Group Stage4 6 March 1983 def 17–5 6,055 1983 Great Britain vs France series5 7 March 1992 def 36–0 5,250 1989-1992 Rugby League World Cup Group Stage6 10 October 1995 drew with 28–28 5,121 1995 Rugby League World Cup Group B7 23 October 1999 def 50–20 3,068 1999 Anglo-French Challenge8 4 November 2000 def. 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, with the exception of the 1980 New Zealand rugby league tour of Great Britain and France, which was played at Boothferry Park. Hull F.C.'s final match played at The Boulevard was a test match against New Zealand on 22 October 2002 during New Zealand's 2002 tour, seeing Hull F.C. defeated 11–28 by the tourists.

Game Date Result Attendance Notes1 16 November 1907 New Zealand def. Hull F.C. 18–13 1907–08 All Golds tour2 5 November 1908 def. Yorkshire 24–11 3,500 1908–09 Kangaroo Tour3 30 January 1909 Hull F.C. def. 9–8 10,0004 4 November 1911 Australasia def. Hull F.C. 26–7 6,000 1911–12 Kangaroo tour5 24 December 1921 Australasia def. Hull F.C. 26–10 12,000 1921–22 Kangaroo tour6 4 November 1929 def. Hull F.C. 35–2 10,000 1929–30 Kangaroo tour7 25 December 1933 def. Hull F.C. 19–5 16,341 1933–34 Kangaroo tour8 23 October 1937 def. Hull F.C. 22–12 15,000 1937–38 Kangaroo tour9 23 September 1948 def. Hull F.C. 13–3 16,616 1948–49 Kangaroo tour10 8 September 1952 def. Hull F.C. 28–0 15,364 1952–53 Kangaroo tour11 15 October 1956 def. Hull F.C. / Hull KR XIII 37–14 17,172 1956–57 Kangaroo tour12 26 October 1959 def. Hull F.C. / Hull KR XIII 29–9 15,944 1959–60 Kangaroo tour13 12 October 1963 def. Hull F.C. / Hull KR XIII 23–10 10,481 1963–64 Kangaroo tour14 29 October 1978 def. Hull F.C. 34–2 10,723 1978 Kangaroo tour15 16 November 1982 def. Hull F.C. 13–7 16,049 1982 Kangaroo tour16 16 November 1986 def. Hull F.C. 48–0 8,213 1986 Kangaroo tour17 14 November 1990 def. Hull F.C. 34–4 13,081 1990 Kangaroo tour18 22 October 2002 New Zealand def. Hull F.C. 28–11 12,092 2002 New Zealand Kiwis tour

Speedway

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. 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 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.

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 a year, Craven Park stadium had opened and in 1934, the Craven Street track opened, the latter proving to be short-lived.

Greyhound racing came to an end at The Boulevard for the first time 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.

2003–2009

In 2002, Hull F.C. moved to the newly opened KC Stadium, entering into a groundshare agreement with association football club Hull City A.F.C. and putting The Boulevard 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.

The track was constructed with a circumference of and distances of , , and . Racing started in December 2003, with Friday and Saturday night racing under the supervision of Racing Manager, David Gray.

After Hull City Council refused to extend the greyhound racing lease, the stadium remained unused until 25 October 2007, when it reopened again under a three-year lease for the first time in 28 months. A £250,000 refurbishment of the stadium was carried out, racing changed to Thursday and Saturday nights, and Mick Smith was appointed as Racing Manager.

Track records

Distance metres Greyhound Time Date270 Top Matt16.92 6 December 2003270 Killavarrig Ruby16.53 29 October 2004270 Centenarys Pass16.37 21 November 2004270 Ballymac Charley16.36 22 December 2007270 Bradford Lad16.35 4 October 2008460 Hesley Nikita29.06 27 December 2003460 Pamelas Nikita29.03 27 December 2003460 Thorsman 28.87 17 January 2004460 Malton Merlin 28.75 14 February 2004460 Pamelas Pride 28.51 28 February 2004460 Quiet Chant28.46 24 April 2004460 Parkview Dot28.38 27 December 2004460 Zero to Hero28.28 10 September 2005460 Rushmoor Major 28.27 3 November 2007460 Stevens Court 28.15 22 December 2007460 Linfit Robert 28.02 22 December 2007460 Tango Star28.02 2 February 2008460 Rossacredibility27.85 9 February 2008655 Split the Pack 41.06 30 May 2004845 Tipp the Breeze 55.30 10 November 2007847 Bernis Emma 55.46 25 July 2004

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. The football team moved out after finding a new home at Boothferry Park in August 1947.

Closure and demolition In June 2009, it was announced that The Boulevard would close to greyhound racing once again after less than two years. After going to once-a-week racing, promoter Dave Marshall pulled the plug on funding for the loss-making stadium, with the last race being held on 17 June.

Following the prior demolition of the East Stand due to persistent vandalism, as well as the presence of asbestos, demolition of the rest of the stadium began in August 2010, after a Hull City Council inspection declared the stadium unsafe. The original foundation stones were removed for reuse in a memorial, while the goalposts were donated to amateur club West Hull A.R.L.F.C. A new free school, named The Boulevard Academy, was opened on the site in September 2013, and a memorial plaque to the stadium, as well as Hull F.C. fans who had ashes scattered at the stadium, was unveiled by the Lord Mayor of Hull on the school grounds in September 2015, during Hull F.C.'s 150th anniversary year.

References

External links

Rugby League Project fixture results at The Boulevard