The Piatak family attended a Carlisle United match against Derby County at Brunton Park earlier this year. From left are Tom II, Alice Piatak, Tom Piatak Sr., Patty Piatak, Jenna Piatak and her fiance, Nick DeMasi | Barbara Abbott, contributed by Piatak family
Published on November 27, 2023 at 11:48 am
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Jacksonville-based Castle Sports Group has acquired Carlisle United Football Club, an English soccer club.
Carlisle competes in League One of the English Football League, the third tier of that country’s soccer pyramid.
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Castle is led by local logistics leader Tom Piatak. He says the Cumbrian club’s 127-year history and community connections in Northwest England appealed to his family-owned company.
“We narrowed in on the English football leagues as they have the history behind them, they have the fan support behind them,” Piatak told Jacksonville Today last week before leaving for England. “And, it intrigued us in general, with the promotion, relegation and everything. We started to take a look at the leagues in general, and we realized League One, League Two was about where we thought we could fit and make an impact.”
The Piatak’s transportation company, Magellan Transport Logistics, is the official logistics partner of the Jaguars.
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That relationship allowed Piatak to speak with Jaguars owner Shad Khan about the intricacies of owning an English soccer club. Khan has owned English Premier League side Fulham FC since 2013.
Piatak said he also spoke with Bill Foley, chairman of Fidelity National Financial Inc. and owner of Premier League club Bournemouth.
“It’s definitely different the way they operate over there from what we’re used to over here. So, a lot of it has just been learning, trying to hear what they’ve done, what works, what didn’t and try to apply that to Carlisle as we can.”
The Piataks were at Brunton Park on Saturday to watch the club tie Charlton Athletic 1-1.
Piatak said Castle’s goal right now is to ensure Carlisle remains in League One.
Carlisle is currently in 22nd place in the 24-team league with 15 points (3-9-6) in 18 matches. The bottom four teams will be relegated to League Two at the end of the season.
“We have the January transfer window coming up,” Piatak said. “We’ve already spoken with (manager Paul Simpson) and his team and explained what we would like to do. There are no givens, there are no gimmes in football. It’s definitely a challenge we have ahead of us and the team has ahead of us.”
Carlisle is two points behind Exeter City and safety from relegation. Tuesday’s match against last-placed Reading will be pivotal to Carlisle’s hopes of remaining in League One.
Lead image: The Piatak family attended a Carlisle United match against Derby County at Brunton Park earlier this year. From left are Tom II, Alice Piatak, Tom Piatak Sr., Patty Piatak, Jenna Piatak and her fiance, Nick DeMasi | Barbara Abbott, contributed by Piatak family
