The Boulevard (stadium)

The Boulevard
The Boulevard in May 2006
Interactive map of The Boulevard
Full nameThe Boulevard
LocationKingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England
Coordinates53°44′22″N 0°22′9″W / 53.73944°N 0.36917°W / 53.73944; -0.36917
Capacity10,500
Record attendance21,504 - Great Britain vs Australia, 5 November 1921
Construction
Built1895
Opened1895
Closed2009
Demolished2010
Tenants
Hull F.C. (1895–2002)
Hull Vikings
Hull KR (1892–1895)

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.[1] 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.[2] The Threepenny Stand was partially demolished ahead of the opening of a new stand in November 1990,[3][4] an all-seater stand by order of Kingston upon Hull City Council under the recommendations of the Taylor Report,[5] and the remaining quarter of the old stand was demolished in 1995 to facilitate a standing terrace extension to the new stand.[6]

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.[7] York City Knights recorded their first ever win as a club by defeating Skirlaugh 20–8 in front of an attendance of 943 spectators.[8]

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:[9]

Test No. Date Result Attendance Notes
1 5 November 1921  Australia def  Great Britain 16–2 21,504 1921–22 Ashes series
2 13 November 1927 England def  New Zealand 21–11 7,000 1926–27 England vs New Zealand series
3 25 October 1970  New Zealand def  France 16–15 3,824 1970 Rugby League World Cup Group Stage
4 6 March 1983  Great Britain def  France 17–5 6,055 1983 Great Britain vs France series
5 7 March 1992  Great Britain def  France 36–0 5,250 1989-1992 Rugby League World Cup Group Stage
6 10 October 1995  Papua New Guinea drew with  Tonga 28–28 5,121 1995 Rugby League World Cup Group B
7 23 October 1999  England def  France 50–20 3,068 1999 Anglo-French Challenge
8 4 November 2000  Australia def.  Russia 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.[10]

Game Date Result Attendance Notes
1 16 November 1907 New Zealand def. Hull F.C. 18–13 1907–08 All Golds tour
2 5 November 1908 Australia def. Yorkshire 24–11 3,500 1908–09 Kangaroo Tour
3 30 January 1909 Hull F.C. def. Australia 9–8 10,000
4 4 November 1911 Australasia def. Hull F.C. 26–7 6,000 1911–12 Kangaroo tour
5 24 December 1921 Australasia def. Hull F.C. 26–10 12,000 1921–22 Kangaroo tour
6 4 November 1929 Australia def. Hull F.C. 35–2 10,000 1929–30 Kangaroo tour
7 25 December 1933 Australia def. Hull F.C. 19–5 16,341 1933–34 Kangaroo tour
8 23 October 1937 Australia def. Hull F.C. 22–12 15,000 1937–38 Kangaroo tour
9 23 September 1948 Australia def. Hull F.C. 13–3 16,616 1948–49 Kangaroo tour
10 8 September 1952 Australia def. Hull F.C. 28–0 15,364 1952–53 Kangaroo tour
11 15 October 1956 Australia def. Hull F.C. / Hull KR XIII 37–14 17,172 1956–57 Kangaroo tour
12 26 October 1959 Australia def. Hull F.C. / Hull KR XIII 29–9 15,944 1959–60 Kangaroo tour
13 12 October 1963 Australia def. Hull F.C. / Hull KR XIII 23–10 10,481 1963–64 Kangaroo tour
14 29 October 1978 Australia def. Hull F.C. 34–2 10,723 1978 Kangaroo tour
15 16 November 1982 Australia def. Hull F.C. 13–7 16,049 1982 Kangaroo tour
16 16 November 1986 Australia def. Hull F.C. 48–0 8,213 1986 Kangaroo tour
17 14 November 1990 Australia def. Hull F.C. 34–4 13,081 1990 Kangaroo tour
18 22 October 2002 New Zealand def. Hull F.C. 28–11 12,092 2002 New Zealand Kiwis tour

Speedway

Main article: Hull Vikings

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.[11] 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 380 metres (420 yards) 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.[12]

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.[13]

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.[14]

The track was constructed with a circumference of 387 m (1,270 ft) and distances of 270 m (890 ft), 460 m (1,510 ft), 655 m (2,149 ft) and 845 m (2,772 ft). 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.[15]

Track records

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 2 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.[17]

Following the prior demolition of the East Stand due to persistent vandalism as well as asbestos contents,[18] in August 2010, the remainder of the stadium began to be demolished 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.[19] A new free school, named The Boulevard Academy, was opened on the site in September 2013,[20] 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.[21]

References

  1. ^ Tingle, Richard (26 July 1985). "Threepenny stand closed". Hull Daily Mail. p. 24. Retrieved 1 January 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Threepenny Stand gains a reprieve". Hull Daily Mail. 13 September 1985. p. 2. Retrieved 1 January 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Tingle, Richard (17 November 1989). "Hull reveal plans for new grandstand". Hull Daily Mail. p. 40. Retrieved 1 January 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "You can't beat a Threepenny stand". Hull Daily Mail. 12 November 1990. pp. 16–17. Retrieved 1 January 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Tingle, Richard (28 February 1990). "Hull shocked by council decision". Hull Daily Mail. p. 48. Retrieved 1 January 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Tingle, Richard (15 July 1995). "It's the end of an era". Hull Daily Mail. p. 15. Retrieved 1 January 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Cup-tie lift for Knights". The Press. York. 8 January 2003. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
  8. ^ "Skirlaugh 8, York City Knights 20". The Press. York. 27 January 2003. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
  9. ^ "The Boulevard results". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  10. ^ Gordon, James (15 August 2019). "Throwback: When Hull FC said farewell to The Boulevard". Love Rugby League. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
  11. ^ "Speedway team will be Hull Kestrels". Hull Daily Mail. 23 January 1971. Retrieved 4 May 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  12. ^ "Greyhounds, Saturday 13 October". Hull Daily Mail. 1934.
  13. ^ Particulars of Licensed tracks, table 1 Licensed Dog Racecourses. Licensing Authorities. 1947.
  14. ^ Hobbs, Jonathan (2003). Greyhound Annual 2004. Raceform. p. 158. ISBN 1-904317-21-9.
  15. ^ "Dogs back on track at Boulevard". BBC News. 25 October 2007. Retrieved 14 February 2008.
  16. ^ a b c d Hobbs, Jonathan (2004). Greyhound Annual 2005. Raceform. p. 176. ISBN 1-904317-58-8.
  17. ^ "Hull to close Saturday". Racing Post. 25 June 2009. Archived from the original on 14 May 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  18. ^ "End of an era as stand comes down". Hull Daily Mail. 10 February 2007. p. 3. ProQuest 333583679.
  19. ^ "Demolition work to begin on Hull FC's Boulevard stadium". BBC News. 22 August 2010. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
  20. ^ "Hull's first free school opens doors to students". BBC News. 9 September 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
  21. ^ "Hull FC's Boulevard Stadium memorial unveiled". BBC News. 19 September 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
  • Media related to The Boulevard Stadium at Wikimedia Commons
  • Rugby League Project fixture results at The Boulevard
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