Carlisle sports stadium singled out

Carlisle City Council’s Sheepmount Stadium has been chosen as a potential training site for athletes taking part in the London 2012 Olympics.

It was announced on Monday, 3 March 2008, that the Carlisle site will be featured in the London 2012 Pre-Games Training Guide, to be published at the Beijing Games later this year.

The ‘Guide’ contains high quality elite sporting facilities from across the UK and will give teams and individual athletes a great selection of venues from which they can choose to prepare for the London Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Guide will be circulated to all National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and National Paralympic Committees (NPCs). These organisations will then decide where they base themselves or where to send individual athletes to prepare and acclimatise for London 2012.

Extensive details of the facilities will appear on a dedicated website showcasing the quality and variety of options throughout the UK that will help NOCs / NPCs decide where to train.

Carlisle City Cllr Ray Knapton, Portfolio holder for Community Engagement said:

"The Sheepmount is a high quality venue which provides state of the art facilities to a wide variety of local sports people and organisations. Its inclusion in the London Olympics pre-training guide is a huge coup for the city and its surrounding area. Not only will it promote the site to a world-wide audience but it will also put Carlisle alongside other prestigious UK sporting venues.

"We delighted to be chosen for the guide and look forward to welcoming some elite world-class athletes to Carlisle."

Carlisle City Council submitted a bid to be included in the Guide late last year. They were told that this was successful today (Monday, 3 March 2008). Additional information will now be provided, in consultation with local partners, such as Carlisle Leisure Limited who manage The Sheepmount on the City Council’s behalf.

The Sheepmount is the region's primary athletics and county football centre. The £3.6million re-development has been up and running since August 2005.

The multi-million pound Sheepmount redevelopment scheme included an upgrade of the running track to eight lanes, re-configuration and drainage of the football pitches. There are also new changing facilities, toilets, showers, referees' accommodation, disabled access and facilities, fitness and exercise areas, clubroom and a training and education room as well as gym equipment for winter training.

Carlisle City Council earmarked £1.5million for the project, after over £2million of external funding was secured from Sport England and the Football Foundation.