Carlisle United can confirm that Story Contracting Limited has been awarded the contract to fit out the East Stand at Brunton Park.
The multi-million-pound contract was issued after a competitive tender process, managed by Quantity Surveyor Donley’s and Architects UJP.
The initial plans were first revealed in late January HERE
In the last month, enabling work has been going ahead to fire-proof the entire stand and to begin to renew large parts of the roof - read more HERE
Now, just five months after the takeover of the club by Castle Sports Group, work began today in earnest on the internal fit-out of the of the stand. It is the biggest investment in the club since the stand was built nearly 30 years ago.
The project will see eight new large, luxury hospitality boxes, each able to host at least 10 people for a full premium-dining experience, along with three new hospitality lounges with an overall capacity of over 150, plus a new boardroom. This will double both box and hospitality capacity which has been sold out almost every week this season and most weeks in the 2022/23 season too.
Chairman Tom Piatak said: "This is a great moment. I promised we would invest and improve the club to make it sustainable. We are in a hurry to do it. This a key part in our plans and to get it moving quickly has been very important to us. Fans need to see we are standing by our promises. Going back to League Two hasn’t changed our plans or focus, it’s just made us sharper.
“Preliminary enabling work has been going on for nearly a month and the aim is to have it all open for next season – it’s a tough ask, but we will be doing all we can to push to do it.
“Also to be clear, these projects are being done in parallel, at the same time as doing what we need to do to be successful on-the-field. They are not exclusive, it’s not a case of one or the other, or focusing off-the field, either operationally or financially. It is not a case of prioritising buildings over football, football remains the top priority, but we must do this too.
“Our clear strategy is unchanged - it is to invest to make the club more sustainable, to do that we need to invest on the field and also provide the necessary resources off it.”
Fred Story, former owner of United and owner of Story Contracting said: “Carlisle as a city should be so grateful to the Piatak family for what they are doing.
"They are investing in the infrastructure that is going to give this club a fantastic future for years to come, and we are happy to play a part.”
Watch a short video to show the initial work starting HERE.
After the refurbishment of the boardroom and opening of the new 1904 lounge in December, the East stand is the latest of one of a number of projects set to happen in the coming months including:
- Warwick Road End development
- Warwick Road End Fan Zone
- New LED perimeter boards
- New West Side Fan Zone big screen
- Neil Centre refresh
- Training Ground Project
