By July 1919, Elgin City FC had only £14 4s 6d in the bank when they found a new ground that was part Borough Briggs public park. It was agreed in 1920 that the football club would rent four acres of the park for their own use and they then set about raising £1,600 by public subscription to set up the ground. The club eventually moved in to the ground which opened on 20th August 1921.
The first bicycle racing at the ground was on 18th July 1925 at the Elgin Highland Gathering, which had resumed after a lapse of twelve years. There were twenty eight athletic events which were watched by 3,000 paying spectators. An eighteen year old local man William Mackenzie won the open one and two miles cycle races and then raced to victory in the open five miles event to win a challenge cup presented by the Moray Cycle traders.
The Elgin Highland Gathering was held again the following year on 17th July and cycle racing was the main attraction. Mackenzie was in action again, but he faced stiff opposition from J Cunningham of New Gilston, who was the current Scottish five miles and JS Smart of Dundee an ex-Scottish champion. The one mile race was won by Cunningham and Smart won the two miles race which was for the Scottish Championship. The five miles event proved a thrilling race, all the riders were evenly matched and then with three laps to go, Mackenzie, the local boy, broke away to deafening support from the crowd. Cunningham and Smart pulled him back and all three were neck and neck in the last lap, before Mackenzie made one last spurt and won, to the delight of the crowd.
The Elgin Highland Gathering remained the one big (and only) major cycle racing attraction in Elgin for the next ten years. In 1929 the Gathering committee ruled that the sports would only be open to amateurs but this reduced the number and quality of entries. The following year they reversed this decision and had amateur events and ‘open' events, which were effectively professional races*. Mackenzie, who was competing as a professional, continued his winning ways, he won all the cycle events at the 1931 Gathering.
Elgin Wheelers Cycling Club had been formed in 1928 by Ellis Fraser and William Grant. The club organised races on the road and then held their first annual gymkhana on 20th July 1932 at Cooper Park which included cycle races. Unfortunately the event had to be cancelled after only three events due to heavy rain. Their second gymkhana was held at Borough Briggs on 19th July 1933 and was quite popular and included several cycle races along with novelty events.
The 5th annual Elgin Wheelers sports meeting was held on 16th July 1935 and the bicycle races were a half mile scratch, one, two and three miles handicap and a devil take the hindmost. Admission cost sixpence. Elgin Wheelers CC held their gymkhana again as part of Elgin's Great Gala Day on 7th September 1938. Elgin Charity Night 29th June 1938 included the North of Scotland Championship races over half, one and two miles which were all won by J Whyte of Elgin.
There were occasional cycle races in the 1940s, but the last cycle racing at Borough Briggs was at the Elgin Games on 8th July 1950 which formed part of the Elgin Gala week. The meeting was organised by former British cycling champion and local man Willie Mackenzie, the same man who was such a successful track rider in the 1920s. The cycling events were one and two miles handicap races, a two laps scratch and an inter-services relay race. The meeting did not seem to have attracted much interest and although the Elgin Gala event continued, there was no cycle track racing.
Elgin Wheelers CC were defunct by the late 1949s but their silverware prizes were passed on in 1982 to the newly formed Elgin Cycling Club. Borough Briggs is still the home of Elgin City FC.
* In Scotland, the governing body was the SCU who ruled that competitors in amateur races could only receive medals, certificates, or non-monetary trophies/vouchers. If an amateur accepted cash, they forfeited their amateur status entirely. In Scotland at this time, open races meant a race for cash prizes. Because amateurs could not compete for cash or against professionals, open races were exclusively contested by professional athletes who traveled from town to town during the summer competing for cash prizes. Open races also attracted amateurs riding under false names, who risked suspension if they were found out.