13 July 2023 , 11:53
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Former Premier League stadium Fratton Park is in the midst of major redevelopment, with part of the Milton End completely demolished ahead of next season.
Now owned by former Walt Disney chief executive Michael Eisner, who bought the club in 2017, plans for multi-million pound redevelopment of Fratton Park were announced in 2021 almost a year after League One side Portsmouth were granted planning permission to update and expand the Milton End.
"Significant investment has already taken place over the past few years to keep the stadium safe, including keeping the South and North stand open," Eisner said at the time. "During this period, both in terms of a requirement of investment into infrastructure, strategic asset purchases, and Covid losses, £10 million has already been spent, along with a further commitment from myself for these works of an additional £10 million.
"Everyone is aware that while Fratton Park is an atmospheric stadium, it is also incredibly old, and we have reached a stage where due to the amount of work required internally at the ground, our capacity was going to be severely affected.
"We have also now committed to a new Milton End, that will not only stop this from happening, but will also eventually ensure we can welcome more than 20,000 passionate fans back into the ground."
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Two years on from that announcement, work on redeveloping the stadium has been taking place incrementally and workers have now demolished part of the Milton End. The stand will be rebuilt with an increased capacity of 3,115, while new entrances will also be built along with new women's toilets, disabled facilities, concessions and turnstiles.
Part of the Milton End at Portsmouth's Fratton Park has been demolished (YouTube)Pompey begin their new campaign at home to Bristol Rovers on August 5 but chief executive Andrew Cullen is confident the new Milton End will be ready to go.
"Michael set out a very clear vision of what he wanted," Cullen said last month. "Like anything you will have some people who think it's really smart, looks really good and complements other aspects of the stadium.
"Then for some people it won't necessarily be what they like. The most important thing is to create an environment that everyone can come into and know they are safe, like the new Milton stand.
"We have the advantage of rail seating going in there which protects capacity. The facilities for disabled supporters are long overdue at Fratton Park and away (disabled) fans can finally sit with their supporters, which should be their right to do so.
"I think it (the south east corner) looks really good. Like I said, it may not be for everybody but that stand will reflect some of the iconic features of Fratton Park. We're particularly pleased with the truss, which has been built on to the newly extended floor from the concessions at the top of the stand.
"You can see it developing every day and we take pictures every week, when you walk around it's something we feel really proud about. Overall, I think it is going to look really smart compared to what it was before - a huge improvement."