LATEST: Fratton Park's new Milton End set to open next month - with only Portsmouth fans allowed in
Pompey supporters will next month have the opportunity to sample the redesigned Milton End for the first time.
The visit of Forest Green to Fratton Park on Saturday, April 1 is pencilled in to serve as a test event amid the stand’s ongoing rebuild.
As a consequence, around 200 home supporters will be admitted into the completed first section, which is adjacent to the South Stand.
However, it will be seating only, with a licence still required before the safe standing option is allowed to be used.
With Forest Green supporters to be housed in the old, existing seating in the north-east corner, catering for 1,600, both sets of fans will occupy the Milton End for the League One fixture.
And Steve Cripps, managing director of PMC Construction and Development Services, expects the entire stand to be completed by January 2024.
He told The News: ‘We are aiming to get a few hundred people in for the Forest Green game.
‘Before that can be confirmed, there are a few complications for us to overcome, such as licensing and certification, but that is the plan.
‘As with previous stands, we have to carry out test events, which involves getting a couple of hundred people through that stand at any given game so we can then get maximum capability next year.
‘With only a few matches left, the test events will be home fans only in the new section.
‘The away supporters can continue in the other section, with 1,600 seats there, which is the requirement from the EFL, so they will be maintained right the way through until the end of the season.
‘The Milton End is being divided into sections of three, so can be used as a third home and two-thirds away, or reverse, or a 50/50 split, or full entirety of away. It’s multi-functional.
‘We would probably cut it around the 200 mark for the Forest Green game, although we do need to get a whole range of certification in place.
‘However, it will be licenced just for seating. Safe standing is a licensed product and requires some other factors. There’s a requirement to do both home and away safe standing in the ground, so the club are currently looking at those processes.’
When completed, the Milton End will house 3,115 supporters, taking Fratton Park’s capacity beyond 20,000.
Before work started in October, health and safety demands had restricted the end to 2,000, with it then reduced to 1,600 during ongoing work.
Cripps added: ‘For the first game of the 2023-24 season, we would hope to have 3,000 fans in the Milton End.
‘The south-east corner will pretty much be complete by then, although the north-east corner will be under construction right the way through to November-December, with everything finished by January 2024.
‘Until then, from the start of next season there will be more temporary facilities in the north corner, but everything will be fully functional, while the concessions will be operational.
‘The likelihood is we’ll also put temporary toilets in locations on the upper concourse, until we can get the new blocks open in the north-east corner.’