Fratton Park

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Fratton Park

Fortress Fratton
The iconic mock Tudor facade
Location	Fratton, Portsmouth
Coordinates	50°47′46.84″N 1°3′49.69″W / 50.7963444, -1.0638028Coordinates: 50°47′46.84″N 1°3′49.69″W / 50.7963444, -1.0638028
Built	1898
Opened	1898
Owner
Tenants
Portsmouth F.C. (Premier League) (1898-present)
Capacity
20,688
Dimensions
115 x 73 yards

Fratton Park is the home stadium of Portsmouth F.C., and is situated in the English city-port of Portsmouth.

1 Description
2 History
3 Future development
4 Details
- 4.1 Records
- 4.2 Average attendances
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

The stadium currently has four stands, all seated. The pitch runs from east to west. The largest and most modern stand, at the ground's western end, is the Fratton End. Along either side of the pitch are the North and South stands, both of which are two-tiered. At the eastern end is the Milton End, by far the smallest stand. Formerly the only roofless stand in the Premier League, a roof was added for the 2007/08 season. This stand is shared between home and away supporters. The original entrance to the Fratton End is notable for its mock Tudor façade. Since the arrival of new owner Alexandre Gaydamak several renovations have been made to Fratton Park including improved dressing rooms, a roof over the Milton end and a big-screen above the police box between the North Stand and Milton End. Sponsorship has also been cancelled for the North Stand which now features "Fratton Park Portsmouth" and the club crest.

The stadium is served by Fratton railway station (about 10 minutes' walk away), which is located on the Portsmouth Direct Line.

The Main Stand was designed by renowned football architect Archibald Leitch, whose company also built an ornate pavilion (similar to Craven Cottage) complete with clocktower. However, these were mostly removed with the expansion of the ground. Fratton Park hosted a first-round football game in the 1948 Summer Olympics (one of only two grounds outside London, the other being the Goldstone Ground). It hosted one full England international match on 2 March 1903 against Wales^[1] and has also hosted some England U-21 internationals. Pompey were the first club to stage a Football League match under floodlights, in a February 22, 1956 match at Fratton Park, against Newcastle United.

This article or section is about a planned or proposed stadium.
It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change dramatically as the construction and/or completion of the stadium approaches.

The ground as viewed from the Milton End in September 2006

The ground has been home to the club throughout its entire history, and despite improvements is showing signs of age. Therefore at the end of the 2003/04 season, the club having consolidated its Premier League status, plans to develop a new stadium on the adjacent disused rail-freight depot site were drawn up and approved.

These plans were superseded by a new plan to redevelop more or less on the existing site, but realigning the pitch 90 degrees to accommodate a larger capacity, funded in part by a "Pompey Village" residential, hotel and retail project on the adjacent site. Work on the stadium was due to commence in the summer of 2006, and the first new stands were to be opening before the 2007/08 season.

These plans were dropped, however, when it was announced on April 25, 2007 that Portsmouth were to build a new, and truly unique, 36,000 capacity stadium on reclaimed land in the city's docklands area. Planning permission is yet to be granted, but Portsmouth is set to make an application to the council in the autumn after consultation with stakeholders. Subject to permission being granted, Portsmouth hope to be playing in their new stadium by 2011. The entire project, which will incorporate around 1500 waterfront apartments as well as restaurants and other leisure facilities surrounding the new stadium, and around 750 new homes at the existing site of Fratton Park, is estimated to cost in the region of £600million.^[2]

Record Attendance: 51,385 v Derby County February 26, 1949, FA Cup Sixth Round