Fratton Park attendance soars after ‘magic’ £19m Portsmouth development
Fratton Park has often been praised for its atmosphere, and it has helped Portsmouth thrive as a football club since 1899.
While it is a relatively small ground, the supporters make up for that in their raucous noise and encouragement for their team.
Portsmouth face Oxford United in their Championship opener on Saturday (9 August), but their first home match will come against Reading in the EFL Cup (12 August).
The latest news should be encouraging to Pompey supporters, with the South Coast club’s attendance soaring following recent developments.
Portsmouth attendance increases after significant investment
A wealth of Portsmouth supporters have renewed their season tickets at Fratton Park, with 12,000 now renewed for next season.
While Pompey are outsiders to achieve Championship promotion, they will want to make progress on their 16th-place finish.
Last term, John Mousinho’s side made a sluggish start, but kicked on in the New Year to achieve survival with games to spare.
This campaign will be a further test of the South Coast club, considering the strength of competition in the second tier.
Now, the latest figures have demonstrated the investment that Michael Eisner has put into the Championship club.
As of June last year, the Eisner family had invested £37million in Portsmouth, including £19m alone on the redevelopment of Fratton Park, according to Forbes (4 August).
This work was handled by Robert Stern, whom Eisner knew from his time in charge at Disney, and began in June 2021.
Stern designed several big projects for Disney, and his work at Fratton Park clearly had a “magic touch” as average attendance increased by around 1,000 to 18,952 in the year to 30 June of last year.
| Portsmouth’s average attendance since COVID-19 | |
| 2021/22 | 14,444 |
| 2022/23 | 17,721 |
| 2023/24 | 18,952 |
| 2024/25 | 20,263 |
On 17 February 2024, Portsmouth had its first crowd of more than 20,000 spectators in 13 years.
The latest financial statement from Pompey said: “In the second half of the season, we capped our season tickets to 15,000 and introduced a season ticket waiting list at Fratton Park for the first time in many years.”
Moreover, the increase in spectators led to record hospitality kiosk and merchandising sales, which is perhaps as significant a home run as the team’s success on the pitch.
Fratton Park faithful can drive Pompey forward
No matter how Portsmouth are performing on the pitch, their supporters will come and watch them in their numbers. Indeed, this can be a key factor for the South Coast outfit next season as it can drive them up the Championship table.
Last season, Pompey ranked as the eighth-best team in the league for their home form, highlighting the role that supporters play.
Of course, the next campaign will not be straightforward, but all the pieces are coming together at Fratton Park.
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