Portsmouth chief shares details of new Fratton Park additions in £15m+ development update
Works being undertaken at Fratton Park for the new Championship season are set to take the total costs for Portsmouth through the £15million barrier, Andy Cullen has confirmed.
The Portsmouth CEO detailed the latest developments in an interview with The News [6 June], stating that the regeneration works will increase the club’s invoice sum as the capacity reaches 21,000.
The original project bankrolled by the Eisners totalled £12m, which included redevelopment of the North Stand, along with a TV gantry in the South Stand which is nearing completion.
And now further works, including a North Stand mezzanine, refurbishment of the Victory Lounge and an additional Fratton End TV gantry, are under way.
Cullen told The News: “It’s additional work now, but we’re now pushing beyond a £15m investment in Fratton Park.
“A lot of this work is now extra. The gantry was a part of the original programme, but the mezzanine, Victory Lounge and Fratton End TV gantry – all of those are new projects.
“If the work hadn’t started [the capacity] was going to get lower and lower each season, as more and more safety concerns came in as a result of a lack of investment in the stadium over so many years.”
Portsmouth making all the right investments
The Tornante Company operated by the Eisners have certainly put their money where their mouth is at Portsmouth, echoed by Cullen who has always communicated clearly with the support on, essentially, where their own investments into the club are going.
Alongside the work to maintain Fratton Park to the standard which is being replicated by the players and management staff with a long-awaited Championship return, the investment into the women’s team to turn it into a full-time establishment is also admirable after just a year semi-professional.
Cullen also reassured Pompey fans this week that this financial surge for the women’s team will not affect John Mousinho’s transfer budget for this summer, with the crucial nature of adapting the squad for the challenge ahead.
The increased TV revenue and media coverage as a Championship club will be beneficial to Pompey – as will the more regular sell-out crowds and larger away followings to Fratton.
Things continue to look up, down on the coast.
In other Portsmouth news, David Norris has lauded Mousinho’s impact with a comparison to Bayern Munich boss Vincent Kompany.
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