WATCH: Carlisle United: Tom Piatak on plans for the Sheepmount
The co owner wants a few pitches to be ready BEFORE October
Last updated 8th Jul 2024
Carlisle United owner Tom Piatak believes the Sheepmount is the right place for a new training ground.
The chairman's been giving us an update on the plans - and adds he's always wanted it in the city centre.
He says they're aiming to get a few pitches set up before October - with ongoing work underway to secure land and a long-term lease for bigger plans.
Speaking to Carlisle United, here is the update in full:
Tom Piatak: “It's been a process and it's been a learning experience for me,” he admitted. “We’ve stayed focused and I'm glad we were able to get the announcement out there. I truly believe the Sheepmount is the right location. I've always said I want it to be in the city centre.
“I want the club to be part of the city. I want the club and what we're doing here to lift Carlisle and Cumbria as a whole. I think having that in city centre makes tremendous sense. And the Sheepmount is a beautiful location for it.
“I'm glad the council were able to work with us. The next steps in the short-term is to try to get one to two pitches up before, let's say, October time frame when maybe our training pitch becomes unusable and we would have to go up to Gretna. They need to be the same level that we're training on right now. That would be a big first step.
“And then from there, we've communicated what our plans are long-term in terms of an inside dome and a training facility building there and all that. That's going to take a little bit more time, and we need to secure the land and get a long-term lease before we start putting the heavy, heavy investment in there.
Mr Piatak continues: “I just think it's a tremendous step for the city. It's a great step for the club, for the players, and everybody's going to see it which will only strengthen our ability to recruit people up here. It's just going to make that recruiting process easier. We want to get to a point where players say, I want to be in Carlisle.
“The investment that's going in there is rather large and obviously we can't put a significant investment in there with only a five-year lease with the potential of something happening.
“Not that I think that it will, but if something could happen you just can't afford to risk that. The thought process is the five-year lease at least gets us the ability to get one or two pitches up running and the investment on one to two pitches is commensurate with a five-year lease.
“I think this is a good two phase process to get us in there, get us going quick, which is what the club needs. Our approach is to go as fast as we can with as many initiatives that are going to improve the club without getting us to a breaking point of something. Our intention is to move fast, but we don’t have a firm timeline on completion right now. "