Ipswich Bicycle Club was formed in 1876 and HL Archer, their club captain, raced at the East Suffolk Cricket Club ground in a Gymnastic and Athletic sports meeting on September 2nd 1876. The bicycle race was a three miles handicap (14 laps), the winner received the Colman and Ellis cup and the second placed rider received a cup donated by Mr W Singleton, the Ipswich agent for the Coventry Machinists Company, who had a bicycle shop at 73 Woodbridge Road. There were seven starters, five rode Coventry Machinist's machines in sizes from 48 to 52 inch and there was a 56 inch Ariel and a 50 inch Tangent. ASF Robinson started off scratch, he was brought down by another rider, but still managed to win the race fairly easily. The meeting also included gymnastics, running and athletics contests.
Ipswich FC Athletic Sports took place at the ground on 14th April 1877 and the Anglian Daily Times commented that the bicycle race over two miles was the "chief interest of the day, so far as the public was concerned". In one of the heats, there was an objection to two riders Beecraft and Donkin on the grounds that they were not amateurs. The two riders worked for the Daily Times newspaper and were employed every night to run express parcels into the country. The judges upheld the objection and the two men were disqualified. The final was closely run between four riders, with JM Pollard the winner and little more than a yard separating each of the others.
The Ipswich Bicycle Club held their first race meeting at the ground on 20th September 1879 and they continued to hold their annual race meeting through the 1880s and generally included one and two miles open handicap races, a boys (under 17) race and a two miles club race.
A new club, Ipswich Stoke Rovers Bicycle Club was formed in 1892, the club took its name from their headquarters on Stoke Street. This was a popular time for cycling in Ipswich and other clubs including Ipswich Wheelers, Ipswich Cruisers and Ipswich Conservative BC were formed in the mid 1890's and all the clubs were active on the racing scene.
The Ipswich Athletic Clubs Association held their first race meeting at the ground on July 22nd 1899 and the meeting included the NCU (Eastern Counties) one mile track championship and a three miles invitation Suffolk team race for the Soames challenge bowl. The Ipswich Stoke Rovers became the leading bicycle club in Ipswich by 1900, they were active in racing and well supported in their social events. Ipswich BC wound down their activity after 1900 and had folded by 1903.
Ipswich Football Club started playing at Portman Road in 1884, after they moved from their previous ground at Broomhill Park. Because of the strict amateur stance taken by the ground, Ipswich FC remained amateur until 1936. Ipswich FC played on the cricket pitch, but this was not ideal and they wanted to develop the spare ground next to the cricket pitch, as a football ground. So it was that the Ipswich Cricket, Football and Athletic Ground Limited Company was set up in 1905, the company had procured 21 year lease from the corporation for the Portman Road ground and the company sublet the ground to a number of the town's amateur sports teams. The company was run by the elite families of Ipswich and consequently Ipswich Town FC was a staunchly amateur club and retained the ‘Gentleman Amateur' ethos right from the formation of the club.
At the Suffolk County Athletics Championships in 1905 there were over 2,000 spectators and the bicycle races were one and two miles open handicaps, a one mile local race and a one mile championship of Orwell Works AC**, there were also motor cycle races. Cycle racing at the ground continued through the 1910s with police sports and Ipswich Sports meetings. The Ipswich Amateur Sports Association Championship Meeting was held July 12th 1913, this included the five miles NCU (Eastern Counties) bicycle championship.
During the First World War, the ground was occupied by the army, who ruined the pitch and didn't move out until 1920. Whippet racing began at the ground in 1922.
In 1924, Ipswich Stoke Rovers BC , who were the leading bicycle club in Ipswich at that time, changed its name to Ipswich BC, the original Ipswich BC having folded around 1903. Track cycling lost its popularity after 1900 and there were intermittent bicycle race meetings at the ground. There was an evening athletics meeting on August 1st 1934 at which there was an inter-team cycle race between Norwich and Ipswich bicycle clubs.
Ipswich Town FC had been playing at the ground as an amateur team for 52 years but eventually the club's supporters and a lack of revenue resulted in the club adopting the professional game and joining the football league in 1936. Their amateur ethos was still in evidence, because a second team of amateurs were their reserves.
There seemed to be almost no bicycle racing after the Second World War and the last cycling race on the track was probably the Essex and Suffolk Cycling Combine racing championships which was held on September 27th 1958.
Ipswich FC still play at Portman Road, the ground was taken over by Gamechanger 20 Ltd. In 2021 and they have invested heavily to bring the neglected stadium up to Premier League standard. The two most famous players at the club were Alf Ramsey and Bobby Robson both have stands at the ground named after them and both have statues there.
** Ransomes was an Ipswich based company, set up in the late 1700s, that specialised in grass cutting equipment. At their Orwell Works they expanded into manufacturing agricultural machinery, trucks, trolley buses, aeroplanes and guns. In the 20th century, Ransomes sold off all their diverse business interests and concentrated on selling lawn mowers.