'A massive step forward': Andy Cullen hails Portsmouth's latest infrastructure plans

Pompey’s latest infrastructure overhaul has been hailed a ‘massive step forward’.

And Andy Cullen is convinced the fresh training ground renovations can attract better players to the Blues.

Building work is ongoing ahead of the relocation of Portakabin offices to the adjacent Portsmouth Health & Fitness Club at the Copnor Road site.

Scheduled to be completed by the end of May, the improvements will bring the players’ gym, treatment room, players’ common room, video analysis suite, and management offices across into the main building.

In turn, that will allow for the removal of the Portakabins, enabling the construction of at least one new full-size grass pitch.

Pompey’s Hilsea training base has been steadily redeveloped since the club bought it from Roko for £3m in June 2021.

And Cullen believes the next latest upgrading project can be crucial.

The Blues’ chief executive told The News: ‘The next big stage in terms of culture is bringing everybody into one building at the training ground.

‘That work is already well in hand and hopefully it will be ready and completely fitted out by the end of May, which will be in time for pre-season training.

‘We’ll have an exclusive gym for the players and really good medical facilities, which will be adjacent to the gym, coordinating all strength, fitness and medical in one place.

‘At the moment in the Portakabins, the gym is at one end and Steve (Hard) and his team are at the other.

‘There will be a video analysis suite, with an electric theatre for the players, which will double up as a media room. Elsewhere, the first-team offices will be upstairs, with the Academy offices moving from downstairs to join them, so everybody is together, while we’ll have a players’ common room.

‘The amount of space we have been able to create, without compromising the members’ gym operation has been incredible.

‘It will take us to the next stage. When you’re trying to attract the best talent to Pompey, it’s crucial having those facilities in place. This is going to be another massive step forward for the football club.’

Pompey moved into their current training base in December 2014, when under community ownership.

Initially leased on a 30-year basis, they have now owned the training ground and gym outright for approaching three years.

Cullen added: ‘At some point, the Portakabins will be removed and obviously that then creates space for what we can potentially do.

‘Probably it is too early to talk about that, although it means we can look at a potential reconfiguration of the area in terms of grass pitches. That is work in progress and will be stage two.

‘We are masters now, we are not bound. We have a freehold over the majority of that site, which gives us the opportunity to do what we need to.’