WORKINGTON TOWN’S new stadium will be bigger and better than expected after an extra £4.5million was set aside to further fund the project.
The Championship club will share Cumberland Sports Village, which had already secured money from the Government-backed Towns Fund, with their footballing neighbours Workington AFC.
It will be constructed on the site of the football team’s current ground Borough Park, where Town played for the first eleven years of their existence before in 1956 building their own nearby home Derwent Park, now known as the Fibrus Community Stadium.
Initial plans were for a 3,700-capacity stadium – a mixture of seats and standing – but the recently-formed Cumbria Combined Authority have announced the additional backing to deliver a 5,000 venue with an expanded main stand.
Cumberland Council, who along with Westmorland and Furness Council comprise the combined authority, have spearheaded the project, which will include an artificial pitch and community facilities.
They say new construction timelines are being worked on and a planning application will be discussed next month.
With Borough Park, home to former Football League side Workington AFC since 1937, due for demolition, the Northern Premier League top-flight outfit (level seven of the football pyramid) will play at the Fibrus Community Stadium from the 2026-27 season until the Cumberland Sports Village is ready, after which it is expected Town’s current ground will be bulldozed.
“The Cumberland Sports Village forms a key element in the plans for the regeneration of Workington,” said Cumberland Council leader Mark Fryer.
“As well as sport, the stadium will also act as a focal point for both the community and businesses within the area.
“An improved hospitality offer means the stadium will also be used for meetings, conferences, functions, events and community activities.”
John Barradell, interim chief executive for Cumbria Combined Authority, explained: “One of our first actions as a combined authority was to secure an additional £10million in funding for Cumbria from Government.
“We are delighted that £4.5miliion of that money has been allocated to Cumberland Sports Village, to help further enhance the plans and create the stadium that fans and residents have been asking for.”
Town chairman Graeme Peers added: ‘As a club we are delighted with the latest developments and we feel the stadium will be one of the right scale and a major step forward to align with our ambitions.
“We also see this project as one that can unify the spectator bases to really get behind both clubs.”