Carlisle United’s chief executive says initial talks with the council over a new training ground have been positive.
The Blues under their new owners, the Piatak family, want to build a modern new training facility in the city.
It is one of the key features of the Piataks’ ambitions for the club, in line with manager Paul Simpson’s own vision for United.
Preliminary discussions have been held between Blues figures and Cumberland Council officials.
United chief exec Nigel Clibbens believes the local authority are on board with the kind of project Carlisle want to deliver – and the completion of the Blues takeover has been a significant part of the process.
“When I first came into the club [in 2016] we talked about the stadium, primarily, and it was clear they [council] wanted to be supportive, but when you talk about long term investments and partnerships like this, the immediate question is, ‘Ok, we’re supportive, but how long are you guys going to be be around?’
“It’s very difficult to progress those conversations when you’re actively trying to sell [the club] and seeking further investments. There was always going to be a problem.
“This is why succession and investment was so important – it unlocks conversations that are otherwise in hiatus.
“When Suzanne [Kidd, finance director] and I and Tom [Piatak snr] went to see Jane Meeks [Cumberland Council’s director for economic development], it was almost a ‘get to know you session’ again.
“It was a good conversation, about where the family see the club going forward and how we can work together with the council across the whole community.
Nigel Clibbens, second right, says the takeover by the Piataks, also pictured, can now unlock talks which had been on the shelf (Image: Ben Holmes)
“It wasn’t just about the football club saying, ‘Help us, this is what we want’, it was about how the club can play a bigger part in the future in the development of this city and the community for its people, which I think struck a chord with Jane.
“We’ve agreed to meet again 1701518164 the deal [is] done. At the same time I had a meeting with Mark Fryer, the leader of the council, about the issues around the club and what we’d like to do in the future, and again he was very positive, really open minded to working with the club from a council point of view.
“We all set up a meeting that would have happened if the deal had gone through [sooner], but it didn’t, so we’ll reschedule that.
“These are good initial steps, but they’re very initial and there’s a lot of work to do. But it shows things are moving already. I think that’s the key.”
He said a 25-acre site is likely to be needed for the sort of state-of-the-art development Carlisle would need.
And the American owner believes United can have the sort of facility that benefits the wider community too.
Clibbens added: “They [the council] can clearly see a successful football club can energise a city and its people, and all the benefit that brings.
“And at the same time they recognise the great work football clubs do in the community, in all the programmes they’re doing, all kinds of social areas.
“They see that and we want to do more of that. It’s not just about money, it’s the fact someone is going to be here for a good period, which means you can start to look at things more long-term – that’s as important as anything. These things do take time to deliver.”
Nigel Clibbens says Cumberland Council recognise the potential benefits of a new training facility for United (Image: Barbara Abbott)
United have not yet discussed any potential sites that could come under consideration for a new training ground.
“We talked about the size of land that we would need,” Clibbens said, “and we need to take a kind of big picture view of this, not race into something that we’d find we’ve outgrown.
“This is where the balance is between doing something quickly and something that’s right.
“Everybody knows training facilities need a big area. They don’t need many buildings, but a lot of land for pitches.
“But pitches cost a lot of money to drain and irrigate, and get in a standard for an elite professional club. Land on a hill can be very expensive to develop even if it’s just to put grass pitches on.
“We’ve got to look at this very carefully. I think the council understand they can see the benefit of a facility like that, not just for Carlisle United but community use as well.
“You see a lot of joint schemes like that – just look at Fleetwood Town and Poolfoot Farm. You can see how these things can develop and what a good model could look like.”
