Racegoers embraced the festive spirit during the holiday season at Nottingham Stadium which reported a year-on-year increase in footfall for December.
The Colwick Park venue recorded a 20 per cent rise in the number of punters trackside who made the most of a bumper programme of festive fixtures.
Highlights included Niosfearrnabolt’s triumph in the Arena Racing Company National Sprint while hundreds turned out for Nottingham’s annual Boxing Day fixture.
The good news was replicated at Arena Racing Company’s other four greyhound stadia – Central Park, Perry Barr, Sunderland and Newcastle – where crowds were also collectively up year-on-year.
David Evans, General Manager at Nottingham Stadium, was pleased to see visitors turn out in force.
“December is an inevitably busy time of year for our venues as groups of friends and families make the most of our festive schedule,” said David.
“We had some fantastic action on track and our teams across the UK went the extra mile to ensure we deliver a great trackside experience for both regular racegoers and those who are new to greyhound racing.
“It’s really pleasing to know more people chose an afternoon or evening at the greyhounds in 2024 compared to the year previous and is credit to the hard work of colleagues across the board.
“Already, we’ve launched a number of Winter Blues discounts in our restaurants for January and February and hope to build on this positive trend through the year.”
Arena Racing Company’s winter attendance boost comes ahead of the group’s track-wide rollout of its fundraising initiative for amateur sports clubs, community centres and charities.
The Fund-Racer will operate each month with tracks inviting local, non-for-profit, causes to experience a night trackside while raising funds for either a club or charity.
The initiative was originally launched by Nottingham Stadium and works by tracks donating 100 tickets free of charge to participating teams who sell within their network and keep all profits.
Over a dozen clubs are already signed-up to events being held in January and February, with each club expected to introduce between 20 and 50 new racegoers to the sport.
David added: “Tens of thousands of pounds have been raised for scores of sports clubs and community centres via the Fund-Racer at Nottingham.
“Expanding the initiative to our four other venues is a no-brainer and aligns with our strong community values. We encourage any greyhound racing enthusiast who is a member of a local club within driving distance of one of our stadia to get involved and help us connect more people to our great sport.”
