Pub to honour ex-football chairman with £350,000 refurbishment
The Park View pub in Burnley, situated opposite Burnley Football Club, will be renamed the Kilby Tavern after the football club’s former chairman, Barry Kilby.
Star Pubs & Bars plans to completely overhaul the pub, which has been closed for a few months, once a licensee has been found to run the site.
The vision is for a family-friendly pub with a strong food offer and a takeaway service on match days. It will be the only pub within a half mile radius of the club to offer lunchtime and evening food.
Live sport will be available on eight large screens, in addition to hosting regular live music.
Indoor seating will be created for 110 and outside for 122, with a family eating area with a secure Astroturf drinking and dining terrace as well as an adults-only bar and terrace.
Prostate cancer testing
Its interior will be based on an American sports diner with booth seating, industrial-style free-standing furniture and sports memorabilia from local sports legends on the walls.
Barry Kilby held the role of club chairman from 1998 to 2012, overseeing the club's rise from the bottom of the third tier of English football to the Premier League.
He stepped down after receiving a diagnosis for prostate cancer, and established the Barry Kilby Prostate Cancer Appeal, which offers subsidised prostate cancer tests at football grounds including Blackburn, Preston, Ipswich, Charlton Athletic and Portsmouth.
Kilby said: “I am extremely honoured to have the Kilby Tavern named after me and to have the club connection recognised. I am also impressed by Star Pubs & Bars investment plans as the pub will be much improved and a great asset to the area, which needs a good local pub.”
Prostate cancer testing
Star Pubs & Bars operations director David Pritchard said: “We’re delighted that Barry has allowed us to name the pub, the Kilby Tavern, after him. He is, after all, a hugely popular Burnley FC chairman and a local legend in his own right having taken the club from the bottom of the third tier of English football into the premier league.
“Pubs need ongoing investment to keep pace with changing consumer needs and we’re happy to provide that.
“All we need now is someone local who shares our vision to take the pub on a similar trajectory to what Barry did with Burnley Football Club, to become the best family-friendly community pub in the area.”
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