Greyhound racing was just two years old and already attracting 13 million spectators when Brighton & Hove Stadium opened its doors for the first time in 1928. With local land values rocketing, there were some doubts as to whether the 94-year-old was coming to the end of her working days. But following a facelift that would embarrass an ageing Hollywood star, the old girl is back and looking gooood!
Hove’s personal assistant and overseer of her new look is Lena Birch. Lena is something of a ‘newbie’ having been at the track for a mere 15 years. She was employed by an outsourced company as part of the security team and was soon snapped up by David McDonald, who had a similar background within Corals, before becoming the Hove GM.
“You name it, I’ve done it since then” says Lena, who has worked in the tote, restaurant and bars & accounts before taking over as Stadium Manager following the ill health of Brian Murphy.
It is Lena who has been overseeing a budget of “somewhere between £500,000 and a £1m by the time we are finished”. The cash has been flashed all over the stadium from upgrading and extending the racing kennels up to 120 units.
Patrons will arrive through new front doors, not particularly sexy, but health and safety compliant with wheelchair access. They will notice new flooring, windows, paintwork, carpets and furniture throughout the stadium.
On the track, there are over 90 new LED bulbs. More money has been spent on photo finish equipment and new outside TV, plus a new electronic ‘scoreboard’ that will show replays and race results.
More money has been spent on the seven ranges that host four trainers at the stadium owned Albourne Kennels. Now more than 80 years old, they have had work on the site with the resultant removal of asbestos, encapsulated roofing and new doors and various other works.
In addition to the trainers’ kennels, Hove also significantly contributes to three re-homing kennels.
Lena said: “In addition to the regular donations, we also paid £9,000 towards the refurbishment of the local Brighton kennels. We also stage ‘awareness days’ when members of the public can come along and see some of the ex-racers up close and learn a bit more about the lives of the dogs during and after racing.”
The four Entain tracks boast one of the industry’s most proactive package for owners.
Lena said: “They are obviously the ones who get to enjoy the improved facilities the most. We offer a whole host of benefits including discounts, priority booking and access to their own lounge area. Twice a year we also invite them along to the suites for the owner’s gala nights.”.
“We have presentations for the Dog & Bitch of the Month and a new display board now showing the winners, we’re just awaiting the last few plaques from the printers. We also have plans to have a mini museum with memorabilia showing Hove’s history. She has already had a ‘pop up’ version, but it wasn’t easy to manage. We even had to put someone from security in position after someone almost helped themselves to the exhibits, but it is in the plans.”
Like many businesses, Hove Stadium has been hit by a post-Covid labour shortage. There are currently 16 part-time vacancies, for everything from track staff to a chef.
Lena said: “The stadium has always been a significant local employer in the local area. One of my own sons worked here when he was a teenager. In fact, one of the recruitment agencies we deal with is run by someone who started work at 16 here.
“These days, we aren’t allowed to employ 16-year-olds because of concerns over gambling and alcohol. From a personal perspective, I think that is a shame. I speak to so many people who had their first work experience working here and their first experiences of dealing with the public. They were always paid the same as the other employees too.
“We lost quite a lot of people during Covid, particularly the university students who either returned home or found jobs elsewhere. It has been hard to replace them, despite a really competitive benefits package. But there is a new influx of students and the applications have started coming in again.”
They can’t come too soon as far as Lena is concerned.
She said: “Our restaurant has 400 covers which we have had to reduce because of the staffing problem. But even with 200, we are sold out virtually every weekend. Christmas bookings are also very strong and we have a Boxing Day meeting again this year which is already looking like a restaurant sell-out.”
