| 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.
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]
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).
| 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 | ? | ||