Swadlincote

Darklands Stadium opened for greyhound racing in October 1948. In addition to the dogs, the venue also hosted harness and pony racing, and stock car racing was introduced in 1955. It closed in 1962 and was demolished.

The exact location of the venue was a mystery to stock car historians for some time. The History Of Formula One Stock Car Racing 1954-1990 stated that the remains of the stadium were submerged beneath a lake, but this appeared to be an error.

The stadium was at the end of Darklands Lane on the outskirts of Swadlincote. The site is now part field, part sports ground, and part housing estate. A road on the estate is called Cinder Avenue; possibly a reference to the track.

A long held belief was that only two meetings were staged. However, in February 2024, Les Hawkins discovered an article in a local newspaper which said that the meeting on the previous Saturday might have been the last one, and it also stated that four meetings had been held. The previous Saturday would have been 25th June, so therefore the third meeting must have been 18th June.