The Gypsies Green site has been used for sports for many decades, having been redeveloped from originally being sands and a ballast hill in the mid 19th century. The seafront made an ideal spot for sports to be played given the flurry of activity north and the new promenade which came into fruition by the mid 20th century.

The first record of Gypsies Green being used for sports is in the 1930s, when the corporation were developing the site for recreation purposes. The site was mooted for a sports stadium as early as 1934 - exhibiting the ambition of prowess of this town as well as its riches given it alongside proposals for a swimming pool and winter gardens. The war obviously led to a delay in proceedings, but by 1946 further proposals were put forward. Ambitions to open a running track, cycling track and to provide a new home for South Shields AFC were seen. Horsley Hill was already regarded as unsuitable for the football club, so a new ground was of the highest priority. It does turn out they did use the ground, but only the reserves ended up using it playing against teams such as Newcastle B, Kibblesworth CW and the Ministry of National Insurance.

The running track was certainly added by 1957. Club Championships between Hebburn Victoria, Gateshead CC, Tyne RC, Northern Coureurs and Sunderland Clarion all took part in an event at Gypsies Green in the August of that month.

The first mention of cycling here is in 1968, though I imagine took place earlier. The British Olympic Team competed at an athletics and cycling meeting on June 29th 1968 in preparation for the Mexico Olympic Games. It appears part of a wider sports festival with football tournaments also held within the bowl. Car rallies were regular events here as were town youth football tournaments. Joe Waugh, two time Olympian, used the track to train and develop.

As of early 2025, the stadium is closed for complete revamp expecting to be operational in early 2025 after years of underinvestment. It still hosts South Shields Harriers, South Shields Velo Cycling Club and South Tyneside Football Club. South Shields were also mooted to return here after the dark years in Peterlee, but ended up at Bede.