In the final part of our interview with Nigel Clibbens, he gave us an update on the upcoming events happening at Brunton Park and in the wider community.
Firstly, Nigel discussed the ‘Big gate for Harrogate’ promotion, where fans can purchase heavily discounted tickets for the Harrogate game on the 19 October:
“It's become a kind of custom and practice that for at least one game during the season we try and have a big push to get a big crowd. We discount the prices and make a real community event. So, we'll be doing this again for the Harrogate game.
“We'll be looking to get as many fans as we can down at the ground at £10 for an adult and £5 for anybody under 18.
“It's really affordable. I think with Mike [Williamson] coming in, it's a great time to be doing it. And in the past, the fans have really responded well.
“We hope that lots of people who might not otherwise come to watch Carlisle United will give us a chance and come down. We'd ask fans to grab their friends, families, all the people they know. Encourage them to come down and let's see if we can get a really big crowd for that game and have a really good time.
“I think it's a great time to come together and all enjoy a great match, hopefully. I think it's fair to say that the fans have endured some tough results.
Speaking on the fans support throughout a tough period, Nigel said:
“The gates have held up really well. If you look at our results at home, the fans haven’t had a lot to shout about in 2024. Yet they've come out in numbers and they've been really patient with the team throughout. And even in some tough times when we haven't been getting many wins, they've always come back in their numbers and back the team and back the players individually.
“We can't ask any more from the fans. So, we've got to try and help them and do something for them. And that's what we're trying to do.
“We work with lots of community groups now. And it's a great opportunity, as I say, for people who might not ordinarily come to the games to come and see and have a good day out.”
On the day, we will have some special guests from Jacksonville attending the game, Nigel explained:
“For the first time, as well as doing lots of things around the football, we've got a delegation from Jacksonville. We've got some business leaders and some civic leaders coming over.
‘They're coming to the Wimbledon game. They're spending some time in London. And then they're coming up to Carlisle on the Friday.
“We'll be meeting with officials from Cumberland Council and looking at ways that we can work together with the people from Jacksonville in business opportunities. And therefore, it's a great opportunity for our city to show how good we are and what we can offer to Jacksonville. And hopefully, that builds a stronger relationship.
“We’ve already talked in the past about whether there's an opportunity for a preseason tour to Jacksonville with the team. And with the connections that the [Piatak] family have over there, this is the start of that process. We're really excited about that.
“It's great that these people from Jacksonville are coming to us. And we want to put on a great show for them. And hopefully, they enjoy their time here and want to do business. And then we can go and do something in Jacksonville too.”
The club are also planning an open day, on 30 October during half-term. Nigel explained the plan for that:
“In the past, we've had open days where fans have been able to come to the stadium, have tours, get up close with the players, meet and greet, have signing sessions. But, since COVID, that's kind of lapsed.
“It became really difficult. And then since we started the building work again in the summer, it wasn't really possible. But now we're finally getting to the end of the work.
“It's a great time to be doing this. So we're opening the whole stadium. We'll have lots of attractions.
“The players will be here. We'll be able to have an open training session where fans will be able to see them. Then fans will be able to have tours of the stadium.
“They'll be seeing the new changing rooms that we've built this season. And then into the East Stand and see the boxes, then into these new hospitality areas and see what has actually been created. So I'm really excited to be able to show all the fans what's really going on behind the scenes.
“These things are always popular. And I'm sure it'll be a fantastic occasion.
“We're doing it as a twin site operation. So we're then going to go down to Tullie House, and that’s where the signing session will be with the players.
“The fans will be able to go to the exhibition and see what's down there. We’ve had great support from Tullie House. We’ll also have the team coach here.
“And hopefully we'll be able to have some trips from the stadium to Tullie House. So fans can go on the team bus, see what it's like for a couple of miles driving down there.
“It’s a great opportunity for the club to give something back to the fans, and for the fans to have a great day out. It's half-term, so the timing's perfect.
On the training session and getting to see Mike and his staff in action, Nigel said:
“We haven't been able to have a fans forum or anything like that. So it's great that the fans will be able to get up and see Mike and have a chat to him in a way that had not been possible so far.
“I think fans like that. Everybody knows that we're an open club, and we believe that fans are really important, and they need to be allowed to participate in the football club. So again, it's important that we do this, and it's great that it's going to take place.”
The exhibition at Tullie House has been a huge success, Nigel expressed his joy about the project:
“It's exceeded all expectations. When we first talked about this, probably nearly two years ago, none of us envisaged that it would be such a great success.
“The visitor numbers at Tullie have been really, really good, and everybody who's been to see it has really enjoyed it. I think it's allowed us to accumulate some of the history again that the club's lost in the past. So we've built an archive.
“It gives an opportunity then to create this museum that we've talked about. Again, when we open the East Stand, the next phase of that will be to try and make that open and accessible to the public as well. That might take a bit of time, but we will get there.
“So having accumulated all the history of the club again, it's great. And as I say, everybody who's been to see it, young and old, people who are not so familiar, they've really enjoyed it.
“The exhibition at Tullie will end in mid-November. So the time to see it is kind of running out. So with the open day, it's a great chance for anybody who hasn't been to try and catch it one last time. After that, it'll go on a mini roadshow to half a dozen sites around the county so people can see it.
“It'll be brought to the people, so that'll be really good. And then once that's happened, we'll collect all the exhibits, and they'll come back to Brunton Park to be shown and retained here in due course.
“At the end of the month, we're looking to have a commercial open day as well. That's linked into the East Stand opening. It's a fantastic facility, but we've got to make it pay.
“So we've now got to showcase that to the businesses and the community of Carlisle and the wider area. So we're going to be having a gala opening. We're going to be inviting businesses down.
“We'll be going public shortly to invite expressions of interest to people who want to come for the evening to have a look around. All the [Piatak] family will be there, and we'll be talking about the vision and what direction the club's going in in terms of the future. And developments of this commercial nature are really important.
“We have to grow the club. We have to grow its income, so that means that we can afford to do more. So this is really important, and again, it might be the first chance that many businesses have seen the new facility.
“So hopefully they'll come down, they'll enjoy it, they'll see opportunities for them to get involved in the football club, which they might not have seen before. So again, these are all steps forward for the club. Some of them take a bit longer than others, but they're all steps in the right direction.
“I'm sure when people see what's actually inside that East Stand, people will want to go and enjoy the hospitality and that match day experience. So it goes kind of full circle to where we started with the fan zone and doing things in there. This is another example of what we're trying to do.
“If everybody keeps an eye out for the PR and the invitations that are going out, registering interest, and then depending how many want to come, we may even have to make it a double header.”
Another planned event is a celebration of the 1974/75 season, which will take place on Friday 13 December:
“We've been looking at this with the Carlisle United supporters groups. We want to host a celebration event at the stadium in recognition of that fantastic season in the sun.
“Lots of work is going on behind the scenes. We've made contact with many of the players that were around from then, and we're organising the event, which will be on Friday 13 December. It'll be open to fans in the East Stand, taking advantage of the great facilities that are coming on stream.
“Simon Clarkson, the supporter liaison officer, has done some fantastic work in making contact with the former players and people from around there, and that promises to be a really good night. It'll be a great way for the club to recognise the achievements of those guys from way back then.
“The history of the club is really important, and again, these things come full circle. We were talking earlier on in the interview about the Tullie House exhibition and how that's been great and a real boost for everyone. Then we got talking about the East Stand development and a potential museum, and now we're talking about recognising the history of the club.
“All these things kind of join together. They're all part of a big jigsaw that we're trying to assemble. We're clear on what the picture on the box of that jigsaw looks like, and we're just putting the pieces in, but it's really exciting.”
“I think my closing message would be to the fans would be two things really. The first thing is we're doing lots of things off the field, but that doesn't mean to say we're not focused on the field.
“We know that success on the field is what a football club is all about. But we also know that you can't achieve football success on the field if you're not operating well off it. So they have to go hand in hand.
“They do go hand in hand, but our priority will always be to win football matches. So that's the first thing.
“The second thing is thanks for your support. We know it's not easy. We know that the last 12 months has been a tough year for everybody associated with the football club, but the support of the fans has been fantastic. We as a football club now, we need that support more than ever.
“We need the fans to continue to step up and back us. We need more fans to emerge and give us a chance, and we need the business community and the people of the city and the community around Carlisle to back the football club as well.
“We can do great things together, and I hope that everybody sees that and that they'll back the football club and give us some support, starting on Saturday in the fan zone at Wimbledon, and then when we get to Harrogate for the big gate for Harrogate, I hope that we see lots of smiling faces for that as well."
