The changes involve creating new bars in The Paddock and West Stand, hopefully by the end of 2008, as well as opening up the disused private boxes at the back of the CBS Stand at a later date.

 

They will begin with the installation of a lift in Foxy's restaurant at a cost of around £15,000 within the next couple of months to allow access to the upstairs facility for disabled and elderly supporters. A new area for disabled supporters has already been opened this season in front of The Paddock at the Waterworks End.

 

The club's new owners stress that the ground improvements will not be at the expense of investments in United's playing squad. The broad plan is to involve external companies in the initial expenditure for each project and then for the Blues to take a share of the profit generated by them to plough back into the club's coffers.

 

Chief executive and co-owner David Allen said: "We have already stated our commitment to keeping Carlisle United at Brunton Park but we realise the facilities here have to improve, otherwise we will slip behind the standard that supporters rightly expect. We have a lot of plans to improve things around the stadium and the next of these will see a lift installed at Foxy's. We are already in talks with the city council's building control department and getting quotes from builders regarding the creation of a new bar at the back of The Paddock wall towards the Warwick Road end. We realise that the situation with the only existing Paddock bar towards the Waterworks End is not satisfactory.

 

"The plans here also involve creating an Executive Club lounge for members, which will house the players and their partners and families as well, although these details have not yet been finalised. Hopefully we can get this completed before Christmas.

 

"The CBS stand is a much longer-term project. There are a lot of very complicated health and safety issues, like installing a lift. I'd like to assure fans that it is not a question of doing these things at the expense of building a team. However, we are commited to providing better facilities at Brunton Park because that is what our fans want."

 

The only one of these facilities which will be open at Saturday's League One home fixture against Yeovil Town is the new section for disabled supporters.