New owners take over at Peterborough Greyhound Stadium after sale deal agreed

Peterborough Greyhound Stadium at Fengate EMN-200520-145811009

Peterborough Greyhound Stadium is under new ownership following the sale of the iconic venue.

The family-owned stadium and land, in First Drove, Fengate, which had hosted greyhound racing for 75 years until the outbreak of the Covid=19 pandemic, has been sold to Fengate Land Holdings, based in Lynch Wood, Peterborough.

The value of the sale has not been disclosed.

The deal involves the sale of Peterborough Sports Stadium Limited, which owns the greyhound stadium, to building projects developer Fengate Land Holdings, of Apollo House, Minerva Business Park, Lynch Wood.

Peterborough Greyhound Stadium - to the right of photograph.

Richard Perkins, whose family had owned the stadium since 1945, said: “I can confirm that we are now working with the new owners of Peterborough Sports Stadium Limited in shaping the future for the stadium.

“It is unlikely that the Stadium will host greyhound racing again for many reasons, not the least of which is the ongoing uncertainty of potential Covid restrictions on leisure venues.

“However, we are looking at all sorts of permutations of uses and nothing is ruled out.”

According to details held at Companies House, Fengate Land Holdings has registered Mick George Ltd, of Lancaster Way, Ermine Business Park, Huntingdon, as ‘a person with significant control’.

The stadium stopped operating as a greyhound racing venue on May 19 last year as the introduction of social distancing rules and lockdown made it impossible for the venue to accommodate the substantial number of visitors it needed to remain sustainable.

At its peak, the stadium had employed 180 workers - mostly part-time - including 25 full-time staff - and could cater for about 1,500 customers.

Announcing the closure last year, a spokesman for the stadium said: “We are an evening greyhound racing venue and rely heavily on income from customers attending the venue to eat, drink, and bet (on our Tote) to survive.

“Without substantial numbers of visitors... the long-term viability of continuing to trade from the site as a greyhound racing stadium is unsustainable.

The venue has hosted greyhound racing since the 1930s and was taken over by the Perkins family in 1945.

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