Nostalgia: A field of dreams for decades

One workman with a shovel was all it took to begin the groundwork on a site that went on to host two Commonwealth Games and set Britain’s greatest Olympian off on his path to glory.

It was 1967 when work 
got under way on the £2.21 million new Meadowbank Stadium, a venue that has gone on to host many great 
moments in the Capital’s sporting history.

At the time, Councillor Kenneth Borthwick told the Evening News that the stadium would be ready for the 1970 Games “with no trouble at all”.

And he was right, as it began to become more recognisable as early as the next year as the old Meadowbank stand was torn down.

This week the Capital’s own Sir Chris Hoy urged city chiefs to invest in Meadowbank’s facilities, including its 
crumbling veledrome, where the six-time Olympic gold 
medalist learnt his trade.

Other great sporting stars have passed through, such as swimming champion David Wilkie, who acknowledged crowds during an athletics meeting in 1976.

Meadowbank hosted the British International Games in 1971, with the Evening News reporting how only fierce winds prevented world records from being smashed in some disciplines.

On that day, Lynn Davies was amongst the competitors, as the Cardiff athlete came out on top in the long jump 
contest.

With a varied past – as well as athletics, the stadium is also now the home of Edinburgh City Football Club and an annual fireworks festival each November – youngsters crowded at the old Meadowbank site in 1964 with their autograph books at the ready as they took in a speedway event.