Brunton Park
Encyclopedia
Brunton Park is a football stadium
and the home of Carlisle United F.C.
It is situated in the city of Carlisle, Cumbria
and has a certified capacity for the 2011/2012 season of 18,202. The ground opened in 1909. Brunton Park's grandstand burned down in 1953 and the stadium flooded completely in 2005.
Brunton Park is split into four separate stands; The Warwick Road End, The East Stand, The Main (West) Stand and The Petteril End, which remains closed unless exceptionally large crowds are in attendance.
Brunton Park is the largest football stadium in England which isn't all-seated. Carlisle United plan to move away from Brunton Park in the near future to a 12,000 capacity all-seater stadium.
now sits. In 1909 they were evicted from premises by The Duke of Devonshire and moved eastwards to establish Brunton Park, the clubs home ever since.
to Liverpool
for £12,500 enabled the club to rebuild the stadium into what is The West Stand today. The ground is notable as the only ground in the football league to have been constructed using the principles of Feng shui by civil engineer Sir Patrick Abercrombie.
For the following six weeks Carlisle United were forced to play their home games at Christie Park in Morecambe
while repair work took place. United were still able, however, to reach the playoffs in the Conference
that season and win promotion back into The Football League
.
The lower tier is mainly a paddock terrace which runs the length of the pitch. The home and away dugouts are situated in front of this stand with the tunnel dividing it through the centre. To the north is an area for disabled supporters. To this day a strict dress code of boiler suits and wellies remains in place. Singing is forbidden but acts of throtery are common place.
The upper tier is known as the family stand with a small section to the south known as the 'A' Stand which houses school children. The full extent of the upper tier is seated and is the location of the stadium's most recent improvements, upgraded seating which was bought from Darlington
in 2006 during the clubs relocation.
At the north end of the stand is also a viewing gallery positioned in-between the two tiers of the stand. The gallery sits in front of Foxy's restaurant which offers hospitality packages to supporters.
The north section of the East Stand most commonly houses the away fans, separated from the home fans by nets and a gate in the concourse. When large groups of home fans are expected away fans are sometimes restricted to the Petteril end.
In November 2010 local business and long time supporters of the club The Stobart Group
celebrated their 40th anniversary and bought 4000 tickets on the East Stand for the League One fixture: Carlisle versus Rochdale
. The company then gave away the tickets to the local public. On this occasion the away fans were moved solely to the Petteril End.
To the west of the stand is a small control tower which is used to facilitate crowd supervision on match days. Also located here is the only scoreboard in the stadium and an advertising screen which sometimes displays goal replays. There is also a new scoreboard which is operated by Steven Robinson aka Scoreboard Ste.
The pitch
at Brunton Park currently measures 104 metres (114 yards) by 67 metres (74 yards). Originally a soil-based pitch was housed which was built over a landfill site; over the years this caused numerous settlement problems such as dips and crowns. When Bill Shankly
joined the club in 1949 he called the ground "a glorified hen coop, everything was in terrible condition except for the pitch and that was always a good one". The pitch was and still is laid with local Solway turf, which is favoured by Wimbledon
and formerly Wembley Stadium before its renovation.
The new Wembley Stadium was not laid with the turf and has since suffered multiple problems with its pitch.
During the flooding of January 2004, heavy deposits of silt were left on the playing field and a decision was made by the owners to build a new pitch and install a new primary drainage system.
A club shop is situated south of the ground on Warwick Road. The shop was renovated before reopening after the flooding in 2005, turning over £20,000 on its first day back in business. In front of the shop stands a life-size bronze statue of former player Hugh McIlmoyle.
.
In 2010 Brunton Park was used during the production of the BBC television programme United
, a docudrama centring around Manchester United
at the time of the Munich Air Disaster
. The ground was chosen due to a likeness in parts of the stadium with 1950's Old Trafford
.
27,500 (Carlisle-Middlesbrough F.C, 7 February 1970, FA Cup 5th Round
Record Gate Receipts: £146,000 (Carlisle-Tottenham Hotspur, 30 September 1997, Coca Cola Cup 2nd Round
Brunton Park was the first ground to host an FA cup match between league clubs played under lights. Carlisle played Darlington
in a first round replay, losing 1-3.
, meant that the stadium remained unchanged from that date.
On 18 November 2011, with Carlisle established in League One (third tier) for the sixth season, the club announced plans to leave Brunton Park for a new 12,000-seat stadium in the Kingmoor area of the city.
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
and the home of Carlisle United F.C.
Carlisle United F.C.
Carlisle United F.C. is an English football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, where they play at Brunton Park. Formed in 1904, the club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system....
It is situated in the city of Carlisle, Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
and has a certified capacity for the 2011/2012 season of 18,202. The ground opened in 1909. Brunton Park's grandstand burned down in 1953 and the stadium flooded completely in 2005.
Brunton Park is split into four separate stands; The Warwick Road End, The East Stand, The Main (West) Stand and The Petteril End, which remains closed unless exceptionally large crowds are in attendance.
Brunton Park is the largest football stadium in England which isn't all-seated. Carlisle United plan to move away from Brunton Park in the near future to a 12,000 capacity all-seater stadium.
History
In 1904 Shaddongate United became Carlisle United F.C., an association football club who played at the Millholme Bank ground to the west of Carlisle. The ground was often too small for their purposes and they sometimes used The Rugby Ground which would later be the adjacent neighbour of Brunton Park. In 1905 United joined the Lancashire Combination league and required larger facilities so moved to Devonshire Park, a football ground which stood where Trinity SchoolTrinity School (Carlisle)
-Admissions:It is a specialist language college for ages 11–18. It was the most sought after state school for 2008 with about 10 people wanting to go for every place.-Grammar school:Carlisle Grammar School was a boys' grammar school...
now sits. In 1909 they were evicted from premises by The Duke of Devonshire and moved eastwards to establish Brunton Park, the clubs home ever since.
Grandstand Fire
In 1953 the original wooden grandstand which sat where the Main Stand now sits was burned to the ground in a fire cause by an electrical fault. The sale of local player Geoff TwentymanGeoff Twentyman
Geoff Twentyman was an English footballer who is mainly remembered for his links with Liverpool Football Club as both a player and as chief scout.-Life and playing career:...
to Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
for £12,500 enabled the club to rebuild the stadium into what is The West Stand today. The ground is notable as the only ground in the football league to have been constructed using the principles of Feng shui by civil engineer Sir Patrick Abercrombie.
Flooding
On the evening of Friday the 7th of January 2005, the rivers Eden, Caldew and Petteril burst their banks in Carlisle due to as much as 180mm rainfall landing up stream that day. The worst affected area was Warwick Road, where Brunton Park is situated.http://www.bbc.co.uk/cumbria/content/images/2005/01/31/carlisleo_0123_470x353_470x354.jpg
For the following six weeks Carlisle United were forced to play their home games at Christie Park in Morecambe
Morecambe
Morecambe is a resort town and civil parish within the City of Lancaster in Lancashire, England. As of 2001 it has a resident population of 38,917. It faces into Morecambe Bay...
while repair work took place. United were still able, however, to reach the playoffs in the Conference
Conference National
Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...
that season and win promotion back into The Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
.
Paddock / Main (West) Stand
The West Stand, is a 6,000 capacity mixed terraced and seated area. It is regarded as the main stand at Brunton Park and on average receives the highest attendance of home fans. The stand accommodates the clubs offices and changing rooms as well as media facilities for radio and television coverage.The lower tier is mainly a paddock terrace which runs the length of the pitch. The home and away dugouts are situated in front of this stand with the tunnel dividing it through the centre. To the north is an area for disabled supporters. To this day a strict dress code of boiler suits and wellies remains in place. Singing is forbidden but acts of throtery are common place.
The upper tier is known as the family stand with a small section to the south known as the 'A' Stand which houses school children. The full extent of the upper tier is seated and is the location of the stadium's most recent improvements, upgraded seating which was bought from Darlington
Darlington F.C.
Darlington Football Club is a professional association football club based in Darlington, County Durham, currently playing in the Conference National. The club was founded in 1883, and originally played its games at Feethams, before moving to the Darlington Arena in 2003...
in 2006 during the clubs relocation.
At the north end of the stand is also a viewing gallery positioned in-between the two tiers of the stand. The gallery sits in front of Foxy's restaurant which offers hospitality packages to supporters.
Warwick Road End
The most distinctive of the four stands at Brunton Park, a unique covered terrace with a triple triangle roof, it is situated at the southern end of the stadium. Although currently called the 'Unison Stand' under a sponsorship deal, it is still affectionately known as 'The Warwick' to most Carlisle fans. The stand has a capacity of 3,500 and usually houses the most vocal supporters on match day. In the event low crowds are expected this stand can be closed to the public. The 'Warwick' is noted for its distinctive public conveniences which when opened in 1969 by local celebrety Eric Wallace and the comedian Ken Dodd were considered revolutionary for the time. In recent years none other than prince Charles and the popular entertainer Lulu have got involved in the SOBS (Save our bogs) campaigne to ensure the toilets are saved for posterity.East "Story Homes" Stand
Currently named 'The Story Homes Stand', it is a 6,000 seater single-tiered cantilever stand. Although having been constructed a number of years ago, the club still haven't completed the interior of the stand, thus the spaces at the top of the stand for executive boxes still stand empty. One peculiar thing fans may have noticed when visiting the ground is that the stand actually runs 20yrds past the goal line at the Northern end of the pitch. This is because the club had erected the stand with a view of moving the pitch further northwards so a new stand at the southern end of the ground could also be built. These plan never materialised though, and the problem still stands today.The north section of the East Stand most commonly houses the away fans, separated from the home fans by nets and a gate in the concourse. When large groups of home fans are expected away fans are sometimes restricted to the Petteril end.
In November 2010 local business and long time supporters of the club The Stobart Group
Stobart Group
Stobart Group Ltd is a large British multimodal logistics company, with interests in Transport and Distribution, Estates, Infrastructure and Civils, Air and Biomass, through operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Belgium...
celebrated their 40th anniversary and bought 4000 tickets on the East Stand for the League One fixture: Carlisle versus Rochdale
Rochdale A.F.C.
Rochdale Association Football Club is an English professional football club based in Rochdale, Greater Manchester. They play their home matches at Spotland Stadium. Formed in 1907, they were accepted into the Football League in 1921...
. The company then gave away the tickets to the local public. On this occasion the away fans were moved solely to the Petteril End.
Petteril "Waterworks" End
The Petteril is the only other uncovered stand in the ground alongside the lower tier paddock. The stand is a small capacity (2,000) terrace with a small seated area to the east. This stand usually remains closed unless exceptionally large crowds are expected.To the west of the stand is a small control tower which is used to facilitate crowd supervision on match days. Also located here is the only scoreboard in the stadium and an advertising screen which sometimes displays goal replays. There is also a new scoreboard which is operated by Steven Robinson aka Scoreboard Ste.
Pitch
Association football pitch
An association football pitch is the playing surface for the game of association football made of turf. Its dimensions and markings are defined by Law 1 of the Laws of the Game, "The Field of Play".All line markings on the pitch form part of the area which they define...
at Brunton Park currently measures 104 metres (114 yards) by 67 metres (74 yards). Originally a soil-based pitch was housed which was built over a landfill site; over the years this caused numerous settlement problems such as dips and crowns. When Bill Shankly
Bill Shankly
William "Bill" Shankly, OBE was a Scottish football player and manager, most noted for managing Liverpool between 1959 and 1974. One of Britain's most successful and respected football managers, Shankly was also a fine player whose career was interrupted by the Second World War...
joined the club in 1949 he called the ground "a glorified hen coop, everything was in terrible condition except for the pitch and that was always a good one". The pitch was and still is laid with local Solway turf, which is favoured by Wimbledon
Wimbledon F.C.
Wimbledon Football Club was an English professional association football club from Wimbledon, south-west London. Founded in 1889 as Wimbledon Old Central Football Club, the club spent most of its history in amateur and semi-professional non-League football before being elected to the Football...
and formerly Wembley Stadium before its renovation.
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
The new Wembley Stadium was not laid with the turf and has since suffered multiple problems with its pitch.
During the flooding of January 2004, heavy deposits of silt were left on the playing field and a decision was made by the owners to build a new pitch and install a new primary drainage system.
Other areas
The stadium has on-site parking to the east and north of the ground as well as a smaller parking area to the west. To the north of the ground is a separate pitch which is used for training purposes as well as reserve games.A club shop is situated south of the ground on Warwick Road. The shop was renovated before reopening after the flooding in 2005, turning over £20,000 on its first day back in business. In front of the shop stands a life-size bronze statue of former player Hugh McIlmoyle.
Other Uses
In 2007 Brunton Park was tranformed into a 20,000 capacity concert venue to host Elton JohnElton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
.
In 2010 Brunton Park was used during the production of the BBC television programme United
United (TV drama)
United is a British television film directed by James Strong and written by Chris Chibnall. It is based on the true story of Manchester United's "Busby Babes" and the aftermath of the 1958 Munich air disaster...
, a docudrama centring around Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
at the time of the Munich Air Disaster
Munich air disaster
The Munich air disaster occurred on 6 February 1958, when British European Airways Flight 609 crashed on its third attempt to take off from a slush-covered runway at Munich-Riem Airport in Munich, West Germany. On board the plane was the Manchester United football team, nicknamed the "Busby Babes",...
. The ground was chosen due to a likeness in parts of the stadium with 1950's Old Trafford
Old Trafford
Old Trafford commonly refers to two sporting arenas:* Old Trafford, home of Manchester United F.C.* Old Trafford Cricket Ground, home of Lancashire County Cricket ClubOld Trafford can also refer to:...
.
Records
Record Attendance: (tied) 27,500 (Carlisle-Birmingham City, 5 January 1957, FA Cup 3rd Round27,500 (Carlisle-Middlesbrough F.C, 7 February 1970, FA Cup 5th Round
Record Gate Receipts: £146,000 (Carlisle-Tottenham Hotspur, 30 September 1997, Coca Cola Cup 2nd Round
Brunton Park was the first ground to host an FA cup match between league clubs played under lights. Carlisle played Darlington
Darlington F.C.
Darlington Football Club is a professional association football club based in Darlington, County Durham, currently playing in the Conference National. The club was founded in 1883, and originally played its games at Feethams, before moving to the Darlington Arena in 2003...
in a first round replay, losing 1-3.
Planned developments
By the time of the East Stand's opening in August 1996, plans were afoot to redevelop Brunton Park into a 28,000 capacity all-seater stadium. However, the club's lack of progress on the pitch over the next decade, along with the subsequent departure of ambitious owner Michael KnightonMichael Knighton
Michael Knighton is an English businessman who is best known for his involvement in Manchester United and Carlisle United football clubs.-Early life:...
, meant that the stadium remained unchanged from that date.
On 18 November 2011, with Carlisle established in League One (third tier) for the sixth season, the club announced plans to leave Brunton Park for a new 12,000-seat stadium in the Kingmoor area of the city.
External links
- Brunton Park Carlisle United FC