Stadium Legends

YFA worked with stadium/large screen managers, and with the clubs themselves as partners to identify particular sporting collections that would be relevant to each venue and after researching possible stadiums and suitable archive material, we targeted three key venues to work with:

Yorkshire County Cricket Club, Headingley Carnegie Cricket Ground, Leeds
York Races, the Knavesmire, York
Odsal – Bradford Bulls Rugby League (also host to an array of other sports), Bradford

Caught on Film

Working closely with the team at Yorkshire County Cricket Club, Headingley, YFA put together ‘Caught on Film’ – a montage of cricketing footage from the YFA collections, ( with thanks also to the North West Film Archive) capturing a legacy of cricket in the region over the past 100 years.

‘Caught on Film’ is not simply about the professional game of cricket – it is as much about the rites of passage, from cricket on the beach as a child, through the street games, junior clubs, men’s and women’s clubs and the camaraderie and friendships formed over many years.

The film was also used as an appeal for more cricketing footage from the region, and was screened at pre match events, and extensively as part of the Yorkshire Cricket Mela – a festival of cricket, culture, community and commerce to celebrate the historic Pakistan vs. Australia Test Match that took place at Headingley between 22nd – 25th July 2010, with attendances of over 11,000 people.

Dare we say that audiences across the region were bowled over by the footage? Judging by the responses it seems that was the case. In addition to Headingley, screenings took place for over 9,000 visitors to the Bradford Industrial Museum as part of their ‘107 and Not Out - Celebrating the History of the Bradford Cricket League’ exhibition, and over 5500 people at the Yorkshire County Cricket Club for a County Championship Division 1 Match between Yorkshire and Warwickshire. A further 8,500 visitors experienced the footage at The Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, and the film continues to be shown in cricket related events across the region.

Racing Reels

The Chief Executive and the Clerk of the Course at York Racecourse worked with YFA to create a winning compilation of archive film capturing the excitement of a race day at York from the 1920s to the 1970s.

‘Racing Reels’ was broadcast on numerous screens at the racecourse during the last two meetings of the 2010 season: the October Finale Stakes on Friday 8th October and the Coral Sprint Trophy on 9th October. Using the Knavesmire’s four giant screens, plus individual screens in the grandstand bars and private boxes, over 31,000 visitors to York Races over the two day event enjoyed the archive material on show.

As a result of the success of the ‘Racing Reels’ collaboration with York Races, we were invited to take part in the ‘Go Racing in Yorkshire’ Annual Awards Luncheon on Thursday 25th November 2010. The Go Racing in Yorkshire Consortium consists of nine race courses who work together to provide the best in British racing. As part of the Awards Luncheon we showed a new ‘Racing Reels’ edit, incorporating YFA footage from racecourses across the region, raising the profile of the YFA, and creating new contacts and partnerships for future events.

Odsal on Film

YFA’s final sporting venue was Odsal Stadium, Bradford. Originally a refuse site, the site was turned into a sports arena in the 1930s, and has been home to Rugby League in Bradford since then. However, Odsal’s sporting amphitheatre has also witnessed gymkhanas, wartime events, speedway, stock-car racing and tennis during its 77 year history, and many of these events were captured on film by local film maker, C H Wood.

YFA worked directly with the Bradford Bulls Foundation Team to develop a history of Odsal on Film for screening at Odsal during a Bulls match. The partnership with the Bulls was launched with ‘Odsal, Camera, Action!’ – an appeal for more cine film, which was featured in the Bradford Telegraph and Argus. Leaflets were also distributed to the 7,500 strong crowd at the Bulls last home game of the 2010 season. As a result of the appeal, a film showing the 1985 World Speedway Final was donated, and we also discovered Odsal material within the recently acquired C.H. Wood collection. These films fed into a large bank of Odsal material that was edited together to make ‘Odsal on Film’ which was shown to a packed crowd of over 19,250 at Odsal during the Bradford Bulls vs. Leeds Rhinos Yorkshire derby on Thursday 21st April 2011.

‘Odsal on Film’ was made into a limited edition souvenir DVD, together with a selection of bonus footage and can be purchased from the Bradford Bulls store: http://store.bradfordbulls.co.uk

Stadium Legends proved highly successful, allowing YFA opportunities to reach over 65,000 people by using big screens in sporting venues across the region, and attract new audiences via online and media coverage. The project also developed awareness and experience of how sport-related content could be shared in the future – an excellent template, particularly with the 2012 Olympics in mind.

Whilst the impact has been regionally specific, YFA has created and road tested a model that can be replicated in other regions, with other stadium venues and different sporting material.

Do contact us if you’re interested in working with us on a similar project.

See the final Stadium Legend films in curated collections: Cricket: Caught on Film Horse Racing: Racing Reels Rugby League: Odsal on Film