Marine Gardens Portobello first held speedway in 1928 and ran until 1931 and then from 1938 to 1939. The team raced in the Northern League and went by the name the Thistles. The ground was requisitioned by the ministry of defence on the outbreak of world war II and was not released until a few years after the war.
The ground was also the home of Leith Athletic FC for a number of seasons.
The complex was created in 1909 using many of the buildings that had formed part of the Scottish National Exhibition at Saughton Park in 1908.
