Alfred Smoczyk Stadium Explained

Stadium Name:Stadion im. Alfreda Smoczyka
Nickname:Smok (Dragon)
Location:Leszno, Poland
Coordinates:51.8325°N 16.5856°W
Opened:19 April 1953
Expanded:11 September 1977
Owner:City of Leszno
Operator:Unia Leszno
Surface:Shale (speedway)
Tenants:Unia Leszno
Seating Capacity:16,700

Alfred Smoczyk Stadium (Polish: Stadion im. Alfreda Smoczyka) is a stadium in Leszno, Poland. It is currently used for speedway matches and is the home stadium of Unia Leszno. The stadium has a capacity of 16,700 people.

The stadium is located on ulica Strzelecka 7.

History

Alfred Smoczyk (1928–1950) was the first Polish speedway superstar. He successfully competed on Dutch tracks in the late 1940s, but died in a road accident in October 1950.[1] He was the first Individual Polish Champion after World War II (in 1949). The year after his death in 1951, the Alfred Smoczyk Memorial event was first held and shortly afterwards in April 1952, plans were put into action to build a new speedway stadium.[2]

The opening of the new stadium took place on 19 April 1953. In 1960, the stadium hosted a qualifying round of the Speedway World Championship.[3] [4]

In 1974/75 the track was replaced and the stands were expanded to increase the capacity to 40,000. In 1977, as part of the national harvest celebrations and the visit of Edward Gierek to Leszno, the stadium underwent a major renovation and modernisation, opening on 11 September 1977.

In 1984, the stadium held the first of four World Cup finals, the first being the 1984 edition followed by 2007, 2009 and 2017.[5] In-between, it also hosted the final of the 1989 Speedway World Pairs Championship.[6] [7]

The stadium has hosted the Speedway Grand Prix of Europe (a round of the world championship) for five consecutive years from 2008 to 2012.[8]

Track details

The track is 330m (1,080feet) long and has a syenite surface. The track record was made by Janusz Kołodziej (58.12 sec on 9 May 2010).

Records

383 m (1953–1975)
Time Date Rider Club Meeting
80.0 19.04.1953 Leszno friendly: Leszno - Ostrów Wlkp.
77.7 05.07.1953 Leszno 1st League: Leszno - Łódź
77.1 16.08.1953 Wrocław 1st League: Leszno - Wrocław
76.7 16.08.1953 Leszno 1st League: Leszno - Wrocław
76.4 16.08.1953 Leszno 1st League: Leszno - Wrocław
76.0 13.09.1953 Rawicz III Alfred Smoczyk Memorial
76.0 13.06.1954 Leszno 1st League: Leszno - Wrocław
75.3 21.08.1955 Wrocław V Alfred Smoczyk Memorial
??.? 11.04.1960 Leszno 1st League: Leszno - Częstochowa
74.8 before 22.05.1960 - ?
74.0 16.10.1960 - Poland - England
73.9 21.05.1961 Leszno 1st League: Leszno - Częstochowa
73.8 14.04.1963 Leszno Polish Motor Union Cup
73.2 08.10.1967 Bydgoszcz Poland - Soviet Union
73.1 24.10.1971 Leszno XXI Aldred Smoczyk Memorial
354 m (1975–1979)
Time Date Rider Club Meeting
76.4 23.03.1975 Leszno friendly: Leszno - Guestrow
76.0 13.04.1975 Leszno Individual Meeting
76.0 20.04.1975 Wrocław 1st League: Leszno - Wrocław
75.4 20.04.1975 Wrocław 1st League: Leszno - Wrocław
75.4 20.04.1975 Leszno 1st League: Leszno - Wrocław
74.5 01.05.1975 Bydgoszcz 1st League: Leszno - Bydgoszcz
74.5 01.05.1975 Leszno 1st League: Leszno - Bydgoszcz
73.4 05.06.1975 Gorzów Wlkp. Golden Helmet
73.0 28.06.1975 Leszno Pairs Meeting
71.6 29.08.1976 Leszno Alfred Smoczyk Memorial
71.4 26.06.1977 Leszno U-23 Polish Motor Union Cup
71.4 03.07.1977 Leszno 1st League: Leszno - Opole
71.3 24.07.1977 Leszno 1st League: Leszno - Lublin
70.6 31.07.1977 Częstochowa 1st League: Leszno - Częstochowa
70.0 28.08.1977 Gdańsk 1st League: Leszno - Gdańsk
70.0 21.05.1978 Leszno 1st League: Leszno - Rybnik
70.0 21.05.1978 Leszno 1st League: Leszno - Rybnik
69.2 04.06.1978 - International Individual Meeting
69.0 04.06.1978 Leszno International Individual Meeting
68.0 28.06.1978 Leszno Individual Meeting
347 m (1979–1987)
Time Date Rider Club Meeting
70.1 12.04.1979 Toruń Individual Polish Championship Quarter-Final
68.6 22.04.1979 Rybnik 1st League: Leszno - Rybnik
68.1 29.04.1979 Leszno 1st League: Leszno - Wrocław
68.1 29.04.1979 Leszno 1st League: Leszno - Wrocław
67.4 19.08.1979 Leszno 1st League: Leszno - Gdańsk
67.4 22.07.1980 Gorzów Individual Polish Championship Final
66.2 22.07.1980 Gorzów Individual Polish Championship Final
65.0 14.06.1981 Gorzów Individual World Championship Continental Semi-Final
342 m (since 1987)
Time Date Rider Club Meeting
65.8 08.04.1987 Leszno Poland - Sweden
65.8 14.04.1987 Leszno 1st League: Leszno - Gorzów Wlkp.
63.51 13.06.1987 - Individual World Championship Continental Semi-Final
63.35 06.08.1988 Leszno Individual World Championship Continental Final
63.0 25.09.1988 Leszno Individual Polish Championship Final
62.6 05.08.1989 - World Pairs Championship Final
62.6 1993 Leszno FSO Individual Meeting
62.6 21.05.1994 Leszno 2nd League: Leszno - Lublin
62.4 21.05.1994 Leszno 2nd League: Leszno - Lublin
62.2 15.07.1995 Bydgoszcz XLV Alfred Smoczyk Memorial
61.6 16.06.1996 Leszno 2nd League: Leszno - Łódź
60.5 16.06.1996 Leszno 2nd League: Leszno - Łódź
60.2 28.05.2000 Leszno Ekstraliga

Leszno - Gdańsk

60.2 21.04.2002 Leszno Ekstraliga: Leszno - Wrocław
60.0 21.04.2002 Leszno Ekstraliga: Leszno - Wrocław
59.0 03.05.2002 Leszno Ekstraliga: Leszno - Częstochowa
58.4 03.05.2007 Leszno Ekstraliga: Leszno - Zielona Góra
58.1 09.05.2010 Leszno ?

See also

References

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Alfred Smoczyk . Motorsport Memorial . 21 January 2024.
  2. Web site: Stadion Alfreda Smoczyka – stadium description . Stadium Database . 21 January 2024.
  3. Web site: 1960 World Championship . Metal Speedway . 21 January 2024.
  4. Web site: 1960 World Championship . Speedway.org . 21 January 2024.
  5. Web site: World Team Cup & World Cup . International Speedway . 21 January 2024.
  6. Book: Oakes, Peter . 1978 Speedway Yearbook . 1978 . Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd . 978-0904584509.
  7. Web site: History Speedway and Longtrack . Speedway.org . 21 January 2024.
  8. Web site: HISTORYCZNE ZESTAWIENIE WYNIKÓW 1995-2016 . Historia Sportu Zuzlowego . 11 November 2023.