Lonsdale Sports Arena - Cumberland, Rhode Island
Posted by: 
401Photos
N 41° 54.774 W 071° 24.322
19T E 300515 N 4642902
The Lonsdale Sports Arena was a multi-sport venue opened from 1947 to 1959 in Cumberland, Rhode Island. This marker highlights car racing and an exceptionally well-attended high school football game.
Waymark Code: WM16D3H
Location: Rhode Island, United States
Date Posted: 07/04/2022
Views: 1
A cast bronze plaque mounted near the southeast exterior corner of Stop & Shop supermarket in Cumberland, Rhode Island, recognizes the site as home to the former Lonsdale Sports Arena. The rectangular marker is about two feet wide by three feet tall and the upper section features a raised engraving aerial view of the venue. Its narrative reads:
COMMEMORATION
LONSDALE SPORTS ARENA
HISTORY WAS MADE AT THE LONSDALE ARENA ON
OCTOBER 24, 1947, WHEN CRANSTON HIGH SCHOOL AND
LASALLE ACADEMY COMPETED FOR THE RHODE ISLAND
INTERSCHOLASTIC FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP BEFORE
THE LARGEST CROWD EVER TO WATCH A FOOTBALL
GAME IN RHODE ISLAND. ATTENDANCE WAS ESTIMATED
TO BE AS HIGH AS 50,000 CAUSING TRAFFIC TO BE TIED
UP FROM WOONSOCKET TO RANDALL SQUARE,
PROVIDENCE.
CRANSTON HIGH SCHOOL WENT ON TO DEFEAT
LASALLE ACADEMY BY A SCORE OF 20 TO 2.
EDWARD A. McNULTY, OWNER AND DEVELOPER,
OPENED THE LONSDALE ARENA ON THIS SITE AUGUST
1947 PRIMARILY FOR MIDGET AUTO RACING AND STOCK
CAR RACING. IT HAD A SEATING CAPACITY OF 30.000,
THE LARGEST OF ANY SPORTS ARENA IN THIS STATE,
AND REGULARLY DREW RACING FANS FROM ALL OVER
NEW ENGLAND UNTIL IT CLOSED IN 1959. WHILE MOST
RACE TRACKS IN THE NORTHEAST WERE OF DIRT
CONSTRUCTION, THE LONSDALE ARENA FEATURED A
ONE THIRD MILE TRACK WITH A HIGH-BANKED, ASPHALT-
PAVED SURFACE.
WE WISH TO EXPRESS OUR THANKS TO STOP & SHOP
FOR ALLOWING ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THIS SITE.
Lonsdale Speedway/Sports Arena - aerial photograph c 1950
(via: Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park)
The Blackstone Valley Historical Society newsletter The Landmark (Vol. 58 No. 2, October 2017) also states: "Although primarily thought of in the context of auto racing, the Lonsdale Speedway/Sports Arena hosted bicycle, motorcycle, midget, stock car, jalopy, and bomber races. They also held wrestling and boxing matches. They hosted semi-professional and high school football games."
See also: Wikipedia, Lonsdale Sports Arena