Carlisle United: Training ground could be revealed in weeks

Manager Paul Simpson said the Blues hope to share more details of the major plan with supporters soon.

United have a preferred site for a development which forms a major part of the plans to grow the club under their new owners, the Piatak family.

Owner Tom Piatak said a facility which mirrors Fleetwood Town’s state-of-the-art Poolfoot Farm complex is what the Blues have in mind.

And manager Paul Simpson said: “We’re hoping that, hopefully within the next few weeks, we might be able to say where the site is, and where we are with it – what the plan is for it.

“We are quite a long way down the line of looking into it.”

A modern new training ground has long been on the agenda for United under the Piataks, with Simpson also setting out the vision throughout his second spell as manager.

Club bosses have held what have been described as constructive talks with Cumberland Council, and United have visited a number of potential locations.

“We’ve visited four or five different locations. We did it as a team, and we collectively get together and see what we all think,” said Piatak, speaking at Tuesday’s south Cumbrian supporters’ club fans’ forum in Kendal.

“We have one in mind. If you look at the Fleetwood model, that’s what you can picture up in Carlisle. It has the indoor, the 3G, the grass pitches, pitches for the academy, some shared use.

United plan to model a new training facility on Fleetwood Town's Poolfoot Farm, Tom Piatak says (Image: PA)

“We have the vision of what this is going to look like, what the investment is going to look like. We think we know the location, we’re working with the city council on it.

“Our commitment is that we’re going to move as fast as we can.”

Piatak said an all-encompassing training ground, which could incorporate facilities for the club’s academy and Ladies team as well as the first-team, was the plan.

“We’re not in this for the short-term, just to throw cash at fixing a problem,” he said. “We need to have the infrastructure right for the long-term success of the club. That’s our goal and commitment.

“We went down to Fleetwood [on Boxing Day] and we toured their training facility. They have a shared club-community training facility.

“They probably spent £8m – my estimate, there – on it. It’s a phenomenal training facility. We were impressed.

“We said, ‘That’s what we need to have’. It takes space, so we need to find that. It has an indoor dome for indoor practice. We’re going to have that in Carlisle.

“Right now we have this fast-tracked. We’re moving as fast as the club can.

Paul Simpson says details of the site United have in mind could be revealed in a matter of weeks (Image: Richard Parkes)

“I think once you see the location and then a graphic visual of what it’s going to look like, you’re going to be very proud. It’s going to be a place that any young footballer in the catchment area is going to say, ‘I want to be part of Carlisle United’.”

United also believe having modern facilities will help attract players – the same applying to plans to upgrade Brunton Park.

The club have major plans to improve the facilities in the East Stand, Warwick Road End and west stand at the stadium.

And the Piataks’ ambition is to improve facilities for players so they are of top-tier standard.

After the recent refurbishment of the 1904 Lounge and boardroom, Piatak said: “[Visiting clubs] have said, ‘This is Premier League, what you’ve done with these two rooms’.

“Our comment is, ‘This is what we’re going to be doing throughout. This is the standard we want throughout the club’.

“We went to Old Trafford and we took a picture of their changing rooms [for ideas on how to upgrade Carlisle’s dressing rooms].

“This is where we’re going, this is the quality where we’re headed.”