PORTSMOUTH are closing in on a major update for their planned stadium expansion – but real change could still be 10 years away.
The Championship strugglers are hopeful of increasing their capacity by at least 5,000 but have been made to wait for other developments.
The Fratton Park North Stand will be redeveloped if local plans go aheadCredit: Shutterstock Editorial
Portsmouth are waiting on the outcome of a feasibility study before things can move onCredit: Shutterstock Editorial
A study into building a footbridge at Fratton train station holds the key to unlocking the club’s as well as wider city council plans.
Speaking to The News, chief executive Andy Cullen explained: “The feasibility study is coming close to a conclusion, I suspect it will be early in the New Year when we’ll start to see it.
“There are two aspects. One, is it feasible? And two, more importantly, should there be a feasible route then how much is it going to cost?
“We have seen some different options in terms of where things can go.
“Those have still got to be tested and they’ve got to be engineered as to where they are.
“Basically, you have three investors in the feasibility study – ourselves, the Centre and the city council.
“You also have a fourth investor in Network Rail, who are putting in a lot of effort into the designs and structure, so everything’s properly engineered.
“So you have somebody running the project who is highly skilled in terms of bridge construction, they have done a number of projects themselves so it can be properly validated.
“From what we have seen so far, I don’t think it’s going to be cheap, but we will find out more.
“Certainly it will potentially be a lot more than had been projected in the early stages, but that’s natural with building costs and everything else.”
Cullen had previously hit back at projections that the development would not be completed until 2035, but he accepts things are out of the club’s control.
He added: “This is not a decision for the football club, though, it’s about the economic regeneration at Fratton.
“The project is about what we can do on our land, what the Pompey Centre can do with their land, and, broader, what can be done around Fratton in terms of prosperity and the regeneration of the area which we hope it can bring.
“That’s not down to the club.
“Yes, the football club is looking to increase capacity and we need to do it through an enabling development project.
“That project must be productive in terms of transport infrastructure – and the trains come into that.
“There are a number of things happening over the next 12-18 months as well.
“We’ll be looking to explore whether there’s some opportunities for other people to get involved and that will probably start to come up over the next 12 months.
The famous old ground holds around 21,000 fans currentlyCredit: Shutterstock Editorial
Pompey are struggling at the bottom of the ChampionshipCredit: Shutterstock Editorial
“We have said all along, this is not just about the football club, it has to be taken in the wider context.
“We’ll have to wait and see what comes out of the feasibility study before we can talk about optimism.
“What we must work on is making sure we can play our part in regenerating this area of Fratton – and that vision is equally shared by others.”
The proposals include 710 new homes, shops, a hotel, and the redevelopment of the North Stand.
Upgrading the public transport at Fratton station is vital to getting a green light.
Cullen said in 2024: “If you are going to build more homes in the area, build more commercial activities, put in a hotel and create some conference and venue facilities, then it puts an even greater strain on the roads.
“You need to encourage more people to use alternative forms of public transport and you need to develop a footbridge.
“The message and point I have been determined to really get across to people is that this is not a football club problem.
“The bridge should not be linked to Pompey match-days, it needs to be linked to the whole regeneration of the Fratton area.”
On the timeline, Cullen continued: “The Local Plan sets out the city vision for 2040 and what the city will look like, area by area – and there has always been a particular focus on Fratton Park.
“Our vision has always been how do we expand Fratton Park, how do we make that work, and how can we contribute to the area.
“In essence, the Local Plan says by 2035 there will be an expanded Fratton Park, it doesn’t say in 2035.
“That is also the council’s Local Plan, it’s not the football club’s.
“So where people might read it and think the club aren’t going to do anything until 2035, that’s not true.
“We don’t know exactly when we can, we’re hoping it will be much sooner than that.
“A whole lot of conditions need to be firstly met, so the actual timing would depend on many different factors.
“We want to extend the capacity and will do that when the conditions allow us to do so – and those conditions could be in place well before 2035.
Portsmouth currently sit 22nd in the second tier of English football and lost at Fratton Park on Saturday.
Fratton Park is a stadium well-known to mid-2000s watchers, having hosted players such as Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch under ‘s popular team.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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