Carlisle United have conceded the issue of their stadium remains a “long-term” issue – with still no concrete plans on the table.

The Blues have made little tangible progress on the issue of whether they will remain at Brunton Park or build a new ground since the demise of ‘Project Blue Yonder’.

United launched that doomed scheme in 2011, while tentative talks in recent years over other potential projects have not produced a new initiative, with their immediate focus remaining on their current ground.

The club have admitted the upkeep of their ageing home remains a key issue – and the stadium issue is among the top subjects raised at the club by fans’ trust CUOSC.

Yet the signs are that any progress on the matter will depend on the club’s long-term ownership.

Chief executive Nigel Clibbens said United enjoy improved relations with the city council these days which should be helpful when the matter is tackled once and for all.

But a resolution to the stadium question remains a long way off.

He said: “The stadium issue is very much long-term, and therefore that has to be linked to the long-term progression of the club.

“There’s nothing specific on the table.

“We know there’s an open and supportive council ready to talk to us. We’ve done a lot of spadework in the past to get to that point.

“But the long-term prospects of the stadium, development and so on, are very much linked to the long-term progress of the club.”

United remain under the control of their “custodian” owners who have been at the helm since 2008.

But the involvement of Edinburgh Woollen Mill as financial backers has led to speculation about whether billionaire Philip Day’s firm could one day take charge of the club. EWM have yet to make any comment about such a prospect or any implications on where United play.

Clibbens last week said the club had not changed their stance on advertising the club for sale, claiming they had fielded two enquiries from interested parties this year.

The Blues, meanwhile, have along with other clubs been asked to provide an updated capacity figure for Brunton Park.

It sees, according to Clibbens, a more detailed measuring of Brunton Park’s seating and terracing availability than ever before.

That could see the current capacity figure, which the club say is 18,046, altered.

The director said: “It’s not club specific, it’s game specific. The matchday stadium [capacity] rules are governed by the Green Guide.

“In the past it was like ‘grandfather rights’ – if you didn’t change anything and didn’t find anything, your capacity basically stayed the same.

“They have brought a new rule in this season that says you have to evidence your capacity – the club has to propose a capacity to the Safety Advisory Group and it has to be evidenced.

“We’ve never done it before in this way, because it’s so old.

“It’s easy to do in the Pioneer Stand; count the seats. But in terracing, you have to calculate your area and then there’s a formula – for every metre squared you can have between four and 4.7 people.

“We have to measure our terracing metreage and then work out how many people we can get in.

“We’ve had to have it surveyed, the terracing area. That’s the overview. All the detail then comes in. We’ve got to do it properly.”