The College of Medicine's rugby club is known officially as Medical RFC (or more commonly 'the Medicals'). Their ground dates back to the club's formation in 1898. The pavilion was built in 1936 to designs by Newcombe & Newcombe. The timber grandstand was built in 1933. It was restored and reopened in 1988. Timber grandstands are increasingly rare in Britain. This one is the third oldest stand in Tyne and Wear (the oldest being at Newcastle Racecourse, the second being at Ashbrooke, Sunderland). The club crest is shown on the back of the stand - a serpent entwined around a rod, a symbol representing the Greek god of medicine, Asclepius.

Cochrane Park was Armstrong College's sports ground. It is now the home of Newcastle University Rugby Football Club. It also has facilities for football, cricket, lacrosse and tennis. The pavilion was built in 1922. The datestone has the initials GEH - George Henderson funded its construction. His initials are also on the balcony along with those of Cecil Cochrane who gifted the ground. The Armstrong College crest is on the centre of the balcony.

Opened on 30th May 1887 with a Whitsuntide Sports Meeting costing 6d.The Ashbrooke Sports Club, a Victorian members' club, covers nearly six acres. It has in the past been called 'the Lords of the North' and 'the home of sport in Sunderland'. Most multi-sports clubs came to specialise on two or three sports. Ashbrooke's objectives were 'the practice of cricket, football, gymnastic and athletic exercises, lawn tennis and quoits, the physical training and the development of the human frame' and 'the promotion of healthful exercises'. Six sports are still played at the club - cricket, rugby, bowls, tennis, squash and from 2010, football. In the 1830s Lord's catered for 7 or 8 sports and now only hosts 3 (cricket, real tennis and squash). The Ashbrooke Sports Club started with cricket (see HER 15701) when Sunderland Cricket Club moved here from Groves Field on Chester Road. The second oldest section at Ashbrooke is Sunderland RFC (see HER 15790). Ashbrooke's bowling green opened in 1889. On 18th May 1906 the current bowls pavilion was built, costing £267. The architect was Hugh Hedley (also designed the Londonderry Pub). The bowls pavilion was damaged during air raids in 1943 but still stands, barely altered. It has a wood panelled interior. It is the second oldest bowls clubhouse in Tyne and Wear. The entrance to the sports ground was on the corner of Ashbrooke Road and West Lawn. There were five tennis courts and a single storey cricket pavilion. This was replaced by a grander two storey cricket pavilion in 1899. The pavilion cost £600 and was designed by James Henderson of Sunderland. The clock was added in 1913. Two wings were added in the 1930 by Stanley Milburn and William and TR Milburn. The verandah has been glazed. The pavilion still survives and is the oldest sports-related structure in Sunderland. Athletics, cycling, baseball and boxing were only occasional sports. Bowls, hockey and squash were a permanent presence. Ashbrooke was a venue for occasional international matches and could attract over 20,000 spectators. In 1926 there was a two-day cricket match between Durham and Australia, which attracted 20,678 people. In 1951 the ground hosted a military tattoo. In 1955 a men's county tennis championship between Sunderland and Durham. From 1956 to 1961 Ashbrooke's tennis section staged indoor tournaments at Whitley Bay Ice Rink. In the 1970s and 80s during the squash boom, there were over 3000 members. In 2010 the number was around 700. In 2000 the club sold a piece of land on its west side for flats. But it has bought land on Ryhope Road for more rugby pitches. The ground is run by a limited company with charitable status. A squash court has been converted into a fitness centre and an office into a restaurant. The annual firework display attracts up to 7000 visitors. A hockey club and a running club (Sunderland Strollers) has a base in the pavilion, which also has a snooker room. In 2010 football has been played on the area formerly used for hockey.

1876-1887. In 1881 Sunderland AFC moved here (Groves Field) from Blue House. They moved to Horatio Street in 1883.

1920-1930.

Parks bowling club. Formed in 1896. The park had opened in 1857.

Circa 1845 to 1914. The ground was named after the Blue House public house (not on same site as current Blue House pub) which served as its dressing rooms. The first ground of Sunderland Association Football Club in 1879. The club was formed by James Allen, a teacher at Hendon Board School next to the ground on Preston Road. Its players were teachers (hence original name Sunderland & District Teachers' Association Football Club). Sunderland Association Football Club (confusingly the rubgy club was called Sunderland Football Club originally) was formed in 1879. The club is nicknamed the Black Cats. In 1881 Sunderland AFC moved to Groves Field in Ashbrooke, because it couldn't afford the £10 annual rent at Blue House. In 1888 James Allen set up a rival club called Sunderland Albion. They played for four seasons at Blue House before disbanding in 1892. Sunderland AFC played a reserve match at Blue House in 1903.

Circa 1845 to 1914. Had a track and a single stand on its each side.

Circa 1888 to 1960s. The home of Hendon Cricket Club. Now the site of the Raich Carter Sports Centre built 2001. This was designed by Napper Architects. Raich Carter played for Sunderland AFC in the 1930s.

The first known cricket matches in Sunderland were on Monkwearmouth Shore (1801) and Roker Beach. The first formal cricket ground was laid out in 1831 on Hendon Lane, where Hendon Road now meets White House Road. The town's club became known as Sunderland Cricket Club.