Brunton Park

Key information about Brunton Park

Brunton Park was built in 1908 and is currently the home of League Two side, Carlisle United. The ground is located in the city of Carlisle in Cumbria and is the largest stadium in England that is not all-seated.

Its current capacity stands at 18,202 and the pitch measures 106m by 65m. The field also has a grass surface with no running track surrounding it nor undersoil heating presently installed.

The stadium’s record attendance was set when 27,500 supporters watched Carlisle United face Birmingham City on 5 January 1957.

A history of Brunton Park

Carlisle United’s current ground was built in 1908, four years after the club was officially renamed from Shaddongate United in 1904. Until then, they were playing their football on two different stadiums – first at a ground called Millholme Bank but it was often deemed far too small for their ambitions and increasing crowds so they had to move.

After joining the Lancashire Combination league, they decided to give Devonshire Park a shot but were eventually evicted, forcing them to finally establish Brunton Park and settle there for good in 1909.

And it goes without saying that both the club and its famous stadium have quite a rich history, most of which is marred with accidents, forced renovation, loss and just downright bad luck. At first, everything seemed rosy for Carlisle United and after constructing the stands and finally starting to feel at home, disaster struck.

In 1953 the original wooden grandstand which sat where the Main Stand is now was burned to the ground in a huge fire that was reportedly caused by an electrical fault. Unfortunately for them, this forced the club to sell one of their best players, Geoff Twentyman, to Liverpool for £12,500 so they could fund the rebuild.

With more money now on the way, the new West Stand was constructed and the club would march forward after a rather shaky spell that definitely set them back a couple of years in terms of both on and off the pitch development. But that’s not nearly the end of their misfortune.

In 2005, the rivers Eden, Caldew and Petteril all burst their banks in Carlisle due reportedly as much as 180mm rainfall on the day, flooding some of the areas of the city. And as fate would have it, the worst affected area was indeed Warwick Road, where, you guessed it, Brunton Park is located.

This forced a six-week relocation to Christie Park in Morecambe while repair work took place but they would still manage to tally decent results, even reaching the playoffs in the Conference that campaign while also winning promotion back into the Football League.

Still, the flooding didn’t stop there either as they suffered similar issues in 2009 and 2015 with the latter bringing significant damage and once again forcing them to temporarily relocate. It’s also interesting to note that the matchday car park is flooded at least once every year.

As for their redevelopment of the ground, in 1996 the East Stand was opened and there were even ambitious plans to turn the stadium into an all-seater. However, the departure of owner Michael Knighton and their financial difficulties meant that little was done in their modern history.

In 2011, they did announce they would be leaving Brunton Park for a new 12,000-seat stadium in the Kingmoor area of the city as part of the ‘Project Blue Yonder’ but that has also been scrapped some years down the line.

Tickets to watch Carlisle United at Brunton Park

All tickets to watch Carlisle United at Brunton Park can be found on the club’s official website. The price varies and you will experience an increase in cost if you’re buying on the day of the match but the most expensive seated adult ticket costs £19 in pre-sale.

The club also offers season tickets as a way to save money over an extended period of time. All information can be found on their website.

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