Alfred Smoczyk Stadium

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.

Stadion im. Alfreda Smoczyka
Smok (Dragon)
Aerial photograph with the stadium in the middle
Map
LocationLeszno, Poland
Coordinates51°49′57″N 16°35′8″E / 51.83250°N 16.58556°E / 51.83250; 16.58556
OwnerCity of Leszno
OperatorUnia Leszno
Capacity16,700
SurfaceShale (speedway)
Construction
Opened19 April 1953
Expanded11 September 1977
Tenants
Unia Leszno

The stadium is located on ulica Strzelecka 7.

History

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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

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the speedway track in 2008

The track is 330 metres (360 yards) long and has a syenite surface. The track record was made by Janusz Kołodziej (58.12 sec on 9 May 2010).

Records

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383 m (1953–1975)
Time Date Rider Club Meeting
80.0 19.04.1953   Stanisław Glapiak Leszno friendly: Leszno - Ostrów Wlkp.
77.7 05.07.1953   Marian Kuśnierek Leszno 1st League: Leszno - Łódź
77.1 16.08.1953   Edward Kupczyński Wrocław 1st League: Leszno - Wrocław
76.7 16.08.1953   Józef Olejniczak Leszno 1st League: Leszno - Wrocław
76.4 16.08.1953   Józef Olejniczak Leszno 1st League: Leszno - Wrocław
76.0 13.09.1953   Florian Kapała Rawicz III Alfred Smoczyk Memorial
76.0 13.06.1954   Andrzej Krzesiński Leszno 1st League: Leszno - Wrocław
75.3 21.08.1955   Edward Kupczyński Wrocław V Alfred Smoczyk Memorial
??.? 11.04.1960   Kazimierz Bentke Leszno 1st League: Leszno - Częstochowa
74.8 before 22.05.1960   Ove Fundin - ?
74.0 16.10.1960   Peter Craven - Poland - England
73.9 21.05.1961   Henryk Żyto Leszno 1st League: Leszno - Częstochowa
73.8 14.04.1963   Henryk Żyto Leszno Polish Motor Union Cup
73.2 08.10.1967   Henryk Gluecklich Bydgoszcz Poland - Soviet Union
73.1 24.10.1971   Zdzisław Dobrucki Leszno XXI Aldred Smoczyk Memorial
354 m (1975–1979)
Time Date Rider Club Meeting
76.4 23.03.1975   Kazimierz Adamczak Leszno friendly: Leszno - Guestrow
76.0 13.04.1975   Jerzy Kowalski Leszno Individual Meeting
76.0 20.04.1975   Piotr Bruzda Wrocław 1st League: Leszno - Wrocław
75.4 20.04.1975   Zygfryd Kostka Wrocław 1st League: Leszno - Wrocław
75.4 20.04.1975   Zbigniew Jąder Leszno 1st League: Leszno - Wrocław
74.5 01.05.1975   Henryk Gluecklich Bydgoszcz 1st League: Leszno - Bydgoszcz
74.5 01.05.1975   Jerzy Kowalski Leszno 1st League: Leszno - Bydgoszcz
73.4 05.06.1975   Bogusław Nowak Gorzów Wlkp. Golden Helmet
73.0 28.06.1975   Zdzisław Dobrucki Leszno Pairs Meeting
71.6 29.08.1976   Bernard Jąder Leszno Alfred Smoczyk Memorial
71.4 26.06.1977   Roman Jankowski Leszno U-23 Polish Motor Union Cup
71.4 03.07.1977   Bernard Jąder Leszno 1st League: Leszno - Opole
71.3 24.07.1977   Zdzisław Dobrucki Leszno 1st League: Leszno - Lublin
70.6 31.07.1977   Józef Jarmuła Częstochowa 1st League: Leszno - Częstochowa
70.0 28.08.1977   Zenon Plech Gdańsk 1st League: Leszno - Gdańsk
70.0 21.05.1978   Bernard Jąder Leszno 1st League: Leszno - Rybnik
70.0 21.05.1978   Mariusz Okoniewski Leszno 1st League: Leszno - Rybnik
69.2 04.06.1978   Malcolm Simmons - International Individual Meeting
69.0 04.06.1978   Bernard Jąder Leszno International Individual Meeting
68.0 28.06.1978   Bernard Jąder Leszno Individual Meeting
347 m (1979–1987)
Time Date Rider Club Meeting
70.1 12.04.1979   Eugeniusz Miastkowski Toruń Individual Polish Championship Quarter-Final
68.6 22.04.1979   Piotr Pyszny Rybnik 1st League: Leszno - Rybnik
68.1 29.04.1979   Mariusz Okoniewski Leszno 1st League: Leszno - Wrocław
68.1 29.04.1979   Mariusz Okoniewski Leszno 1st League: Leszno - Wrocław
67.4 19.08.1979   Ryszard Buśkiewicz Leszno 1st League: Leszno - Gdańsk
67.4 22.07.1980   Bogusław Nowak Gorzów Individual Polish Championship Final
66.2 22.07.1980   Edward Jancarz Gorzów Individual Polish Championship Final
65.0 14.06.1981   Edward Jancarz Gorzów Individual World Championship Continental Semi-Final
342 m (since 1987)
Time Date Rider Club Meeting
65.8 08.04.1987   Zenon Kasprzak Leszno Poland - Sweden
65.8 14.04.1987   Zenon Kasprzak Leszno 1st League: Leszno - Gorzów Wlkp.
63.51 13.06.1987   Zoltan Adorjan - Individual World Championship Continental Semi-Final
63.35 06.08.1988   Zenon Kasprzak Leszno Individual World Championship Continental Final
63.0 25.09.1988   Zenon Kasprzak Leszno Individual Polish Championship Final
62.6 05.08.1989   Erik Gundersen - World Pairs Championship Final
62.6 1993   Roman Jankowski Leszno FSO Individual Meeting
62.6 21.05.1994   Roman Jankowski Leszno 2nd League: Leszno - Lublin
62.4 21.05.1994   Roman Jankowski Leszno 2nd League: Leszno - Lublin
62.2 15.07.1995   Tomasz Gollob Bydgoszcz XLV Alfred Smoczyk Memorial
61.6 16.06.1996   Roman Jankowski Leszno 2nd League: Leszno - Łódź
60.5 16.06.1996   Leigh Adams Leszno 2nd League: Leszno - Łódź
60.2 28.05.2000   Leigh Adams Leszno Ekstraliga: Leszno - Gdańsk
60.2 21.04.2002   Rafał Okoniewski Leszno Ekstraliga: Leszno - Wrocław
60.0 21.04.2002   Krzysztof Kasprzak Leszno Ekstraliga: Leszno - Wrocław
59.0 03.05.2002   Leigh Adams Leszno Ekstraliga: Leszno - Częstochowa
58.4 03.05.2007   Krzysztof Kasprzak Leszno Ekstraliga: Leszno - Zielona Góra
58.1 09.05.2010   Janusz Kołodziej Leszno ?

See also

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References

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