More pitches, improved facilities: Portsmouth unveil training ground vision at their Hilsea home

Although he cannot put a timeframe on when ongoing work to substantially improve facilities on and off the pitch at the Hilsea base will be completed.

The Blues purchased the former Roko site for £3m in June 2021, having previously leased land at the Copnor Road venue for seven years.

Having been rebranded as the Pompey Health & Fitness Club, focus initially centred on overhauling the existing gym and building, including upgrading the swimming pool and changing rooms, while creating a new sauna, steam room and jacuzzi.

However, plans also involve the relocation of the first-team and Academy to the building’s top floor to take advantage of new offices, rooms and a private players’ gym.

As a consequence, Portakabins which presently house the first-team will be removed, allowing for the construction of two new grass pitches in their place.

Chief executive Cullen told The News: ‘A huge amount of work has gone into the transformation of the main building over the last 18 months – the next stage will be to move the first-team into there.

‘On the top floor we will create a separate gym for the players, a lecture theatre and analysis suite for the players and coaches, a new common room for the players, while the Academy will also relocate up there.

‘The Academy are currently in the building, adjacent to the canteen, but it’s a temporary arrangement. The idea is we get everybody onto that top floor and, where the Academy are, then becomes more of a reception area.

‘That will give proper access to the top floor, with both the first-team and the Academy scholars coming down the stairs onto the pitches.

‘With the first-team and Academy enclosed in that building, we can lose the Portakabins – and the longer-term vision for the training ground how we can reconfigure it slightly.

‘We currently have three full-sized pitches, including the Academy pitch at the back, as well as a half-sized pitch, which is used as a warm-up area.

‘We can look at introducing an additional full-size pitch and another 60x40 pitch (three-quarter sized), which is suitable for younger age-group football.

‘It’s a project which will take place over the next few years. We will do it in a meaningful, progressive way that gets us to the end result.’

According to latest accounts for the year ending June 30, 2022, almost £5m was spent on renovation work at Fratton Park and their training ground.

That covers the first year of ownership of the Hilsea site, whose £3m purchase was included in the previous set of financial figures.

Cullen added: ‘I can't put a timeframe for completion because there are a huge amount of capital projects going on in the football club at the moment.

‘We are getting close to completing the £12m project on Fratton Park, we have put a lot of capital investment into the gym area, while the Portakabins still have some life in them.

‘The football club continues to make significant losses and we continue to protect and grow the playing budget, so it’s about getting all the maths right.

‘As chief executive, those are the conundrums you juggle every day, making the best decisions in the interests of the football club to get us to where we want to be.’