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'''Colombo Racecourse''' ({{
In 2014, the ground went through a major renovation, which included the installation of floodlights and the conversion of a substantial part of the grandstand into a shopping and dining complex. The ground hosted the [[2022 SAFF U-17 Championship]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-08-03 |title=Sri Lanka to host SAFF U17 Championship |url=https://www.thepapare.com/sri-lanka-host-saff-u17-championship-2022-bangladesh-maldives-india-nepal/ |access-date=2022-09-03 |website=ThePapare.com |language=en-US |archive-date=3 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220903072454/https://www.thepapare.com/sri-lanka-host-saff-u17-championship-2022-bangladesh-maldives-india-nepal/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
==History==
{{Unreferenced section|date=October 2023}}
===Horse racing===
Officially opened for horse racing in 1893 after it was moved from the [[Galle Face Green|Colpitty Race Course]], as one of the best in terms of design, facilities, and size in the East. In 1922 a [[totalisator]] was installed becoming the first race course in the East to have one.
The Colombo Turf Club was based here with its own pavilion and
===Airstrip===
[[File:Bristol Blenheim - Colombo - Royal Air Force Operations in the Far East, 1941-1945. CI105.jpg|thumb|left|An [[Royal Air Force|RAF]] bomber takes off from Colombo's racecourse<!--note, the runway was the racecourse--> in Ceylon during the war.]]
In late 1941, [[World War II]] began in the East. After the [[fall of Singapore]] the [[Royal Navy]]'s [[East Indies Station]] was moved to Colombo and then to [[Trincomalee]]. [[Admiral]] [[Sir]] [[Geoffrey Layton]] was appointed [[General Officer Commanding, Ceylon|Commander-in-Chief, Ceylon]] with [[Air Vice Marshal]] [[John D'Albiac]] as [[air officer commanding]], [[No. 222 Group RAF]] which was based in Ceylon. The order was given to construct an airfield at the Colombo Racecourse. [[Don Stephen Senanayake|D S Senanayake]], Minister of Agriculture and Lands (later the 1st Prime Minister of Ceylon) was given the task of its construction. Consisting only of a single runway, station headquarters and the officers' mess were set up in the bungalows in Cinnamon Gardens and
Two squadrons of the Royal Air Force
=== Royal Navy ===
The [[Royal Navy]] (RN) also established a [[naval air station]] here during the Second World War. It was transferred from the RAF on 1 September 1943, then known as '''Royal Naval Air Station Colombo Racecourse''', (or '''RNAS Colombo Racecourse''') and then [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] a month later as '''HMS ''Bherunda''''' on 1 October, under the command of [[Captain (Royal Navy)|Captain]] A.F. Campbell, {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|OBE}}, RN. [[797 Naval Air Squadron|797 Fleet Requirements Unit]] and [[742 Naval Air Squadron|742 Communications Squadron]] were stationed at the airbase, along with accommodation and training facilities for disembarked squadrons, including Fighter Direction training.<ref name="RNAS-Colombo Racecourse">{{cite web|title=Colombo Racecourse |url=https://www.royalnavyresearcharchive.org.uk/FAA-Bases/Colombo_Racecourse.htm |work=Royal Navy Research Archive - Fleet Air Arm Bases 1939 - present day |access-date=22 May 2024}}</ref>
There were also a number of sub-units in Colombo including use of the local [[Rachel Christoffelsz|Rowlands Garage]] which was acquired for [[aero engine]] repairs and the fixing of aircraft wings, and became the Royal Naval Aircraft Repair Depot, Colombo.{{sfn|Ballance|Howard|Sturtivant|2016|p=400}} Additionally there was the Naval Aircraft Embarkation Unit, Colombo, the Royal Naval School of Malarial Control and Tropical Hygiene, and close by the Royal Naval Air Ceylonese Training Establishment Maharagama and the Royal Naval Air Motor Transport Depot, Nugegoda. The airbase '[[Ship commissioning#Decommissioning|paid off]]' on 30 November 1945.<ref name="RNAS-Colombo Racecourse"/>
==== Royal Navy Flying Units ====
List of first and second line squadrons, station flight and other flying units based at this location:<ref name="RNAS-Colombo Racecourse"/>
{{div col|colwidth=30en}}
* [[742 Naval Air Squadron]]
* [[755 Naval Air Squadron]]
* [[756 Naval Air Squadron]]
* [[797 Naval Air Squadron]]
* [[800 Naval Air Squadron]]
* [[803 Naval Air Squadron]]
* [[804 Naval Air Squadron]]
* [[807 Naval Air Squadron]]
* [[808 Naval Air Squadron]]
* [[814 Naval Air Squadron]]
* [[832 Naval Air Squadron]]
* [[845 Naval Air Squadron]]
* [[848 Naval Air Squadron]]
* [[851 Naval Air Squadron]]
* [[888 Naval Air Squadron]]
* [[889 Naval Air Squadron]]
* [[898 Naval Air Squadron]]
* [[1830 Naval Air Squadron]]
* [[1834 Naval Air Squadron]]
* [[1836 Naval Air Squadron]]
* [[1837 Naval Air Squadron]]
* [[1838 Naval Air Squadron]]
* [[1839 Naval Air Squadron]]
* [[1841 Naval Air Squadron]]
* [[1842 Naval Air Squadron]]
* [[1843 Naval Air Squadron]]
* [[1844 Naval Air Squadron]]
{{div col end}}
===Decline===
Following the end of the war the airfield was dismantled, racecourse was reconverted back to a horse racing track. This was greatly affected after gambling and betting
The Colombo Racecourse, the Colombo Turf Club and its grounds were taken over by the government and its large land extent was segmented and distributed to government entities. Southern parts went to the [[University of Colombo]], the northern portion to the [[Department of National Archives]] while others to the [[Royal College Sports Complex]], Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club and sporting bodies.
The Grandstand and the Colombo Turf Club building were neglected and used for different purposes. The [[Sri Lanka Army]] used it as a temporary garrison from time to time as well as the [[Sri Lanka Air Force]] used what was left of racecourse grounds for landing transport [[helicopter]]s.
===Colombo Racecourse Sports Complex===
[[File:Colombo Racecourse.jpg
In 2011 the Urban Development Authority commenced the renovation of the Grand
==References==
{{reflist}}
=== Bibliography ===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last1=Ballance |first1=Theo |last2=Howard |first2=Lee |last3=Sturtivant |first3=Ray |title=The Squadrons and Units of the Fleet Air Arm |date=2016 |publisher=Air Britain Historians Limited |isbn=978-0-85130-489-2 |language=en}}
{{Refend}}
==External links==
* {{Commons category inline|Colombo Racecourse}}
{{Colombo}}
{{authority control}}
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[[Category:World War II sites in Sri Lanka]]
[[Category:1893 establishments in Ceylon]]
{{SriLanka-sports-venue-stub}}
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