Middlesbrough - Ayresome Park
The Midfield : TS5 6BU
Middlesbrough - Ayresome Park : Image credit ayresomepark.co.uk Middlesbrough - Ayresome Park : Image credit borostats.com The Middlesbrough Football and Athletic Company was formed in May 1892 as a limited company, when Middlesbrough FC got into financial difficulties. The company seemed to manage the affairs of the football club and in 1903, they built a new stadium at Ayresome Park at a cost of £11,957, the ground was magnificent for its time and could hold 4,000 spectators. Archibald Leitch** designed their new 274ft long stand, which held 2,000 people and they took their old main stand from Linthorpe Road with them. The ground was enclosed by wooden fencing and opened on 1 September 1903 When Middlesbrough FC played Glasgow Celtic.

It was a few years before there were any bicycle races at Ayresome Park and these took place on the grass of the football field. The Middlesbrough Football and Athletic Company held an athletics meeting on 8th September 1906 with half and one mile bicycle handicap races and the chief event was the NCU local quarter mile scratch championship, which was won by CW Smith of Darlington in 37.4 sec. The attendance was 7,000.

The Middlesbrough Charities Organisation held the first of their meetings at Ayresome Park on 24th May 1909 and the amateur sports were watched by 6,000 spectators. The bicycle races were a one mile novices handicap, and an open one mile handicap.

The Charities sports were run for several years, but at the fourth Charity sport on June 14th 1913 there was criticism of the grass track, the Middlesbrough North Star reported "The cycle track was not all that could be desired, and several accidents occurred at a spot where the goalposts had originally been, and where the turf was very much cut up." There were half and one mile bicycle handicap races, but in the half mile, the two fastest competitors both came to grief.

The last bicycle racing at the ground was probably the Charity sports meeting in 1914.

** Archibald Leitch (1865-1939) was a Scottish architect who was famous for designing football stadiums. His first sports project in 1896 was the John Street stand at Bramhall Lane, Sheffield and he built many stands including those at Anfield, Arsenal, Cardiff, Fulham, The Den, The Dell, Ewood Park, Goodison, Hampden, Ibrox, Hillsborough, Molineux, Old Trafford, Pittodrie, Stamford Bridge, Twickenham, Villa Park, West Ham and White Hart Lane.


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Photos : ayresomepark.co.uk, borostats.com