'Not true': Portsmouth chief addresses North Stand redevelopment concerns after council plans revealed

And while Pompey’s chief executive won’t put a timescale on the project, he is adamant the 5,000-plus capacity expansion will be carried out at the ‘earliest opportunity’ once conditions allow.

According to Portsmouth City Council’s pre-submission Local Plan, which was published on July 9, the timescale for a North Stand expansion is 2035 until 2040 - at least 11 years away.

That would enable Fratton Park to increase its capacity from almost 21,000 to between 26,000-30,000 as part of ambitious development plans encompassing the entire Pompey Centre area.

Owners Tornante intend to partly fund their vision through the construction of 460 homes and a 145-room hotel on land behind the existing North Stand.

But a number of issues, including a potential new Fratton Park footbridge, must firstly be resolved.

Cullen told The News: ‘The Local Plan sets out the city vision for 2040 and what the city will look like, area by area - and there has always been a particular focus on Fratton Park.

‘Our vision has always been how do we expand Fratton Park, how do we make that work, and how can we contribute to the area.

‘In essence, the Local Plan says by 2035 there will be an expanded Fratton Park, it doesn’t say in 2035. That is also the council’s Local Plan, it’s not the football club’s.

‘So where people might read it and think the club aren’t going to do anything until 2035, that’s not true. We don’t know exactly when we can, we’re hoping it will be much sooner than that.

‘A whole lot of conditions need to be firstly met, so the actual timing would depend on many different factors. We want to extend the capacity and will do that when the conditions allow us to do so - and those conditions could be in place well before 2035. 

‘The council hope that, by 2035, there will be an expanded Fratton Park, 460 homes in that area, 710 homes across the whole area, potential new commercial opportunities built, and a footbridge connecting the area (from Fratton Station).

‘That’s not our timescale, that’s the council’s ambition as to how things will look. They have certain milestones they would like to see.

‘We will not give a timescale because we are not in control of all the different conditions which come into place. The football club aren’t in control of all the different dynamics here - but our vision and ambition remains to increase the capacity.

‘The key is resolving different things and meeting different conditions. Such as finding partners who will work together with some of the residential, finding partners who will work with a hotel developer, and understanding the results of a feasibility study to enable a footbridge to be established,

‘When those conditions present it, then, at the earliest opportunity, we can do that. But it’s not a simple question of putting a shovel in the ground and building on top of the North Stand.’

Over the last few years, Fratton Park has undergone a £13m facelift, involving a new 3,150 all-seater Milton End and redeveloping the North Stand and South Stand.

In addition, safe standing has been installed at the back of the Fratton End, consisting of 1,450 seats.

However, with Fratton Park season tickets now sold out at a capped 15,000 and a waiting list exceeding 2,000, a new North Stand remains pivotal to the club’s future.

He added: ‘The new North Stand will be the jewel in the crown, but we don’t yet know the cost.

‘The other thing which prays on my mind is that redevelopment of the North Stand - which, after all, is the biggest stand in Fratton Park at more than 8,000 seats - will inevitably mean capacity reductions while that stand is being built.

‘It doesn’t necessarily mean all 8,000 seats will be out of action, but it could mean a fair proportion, so we’ve got to make sure that what we do is very, very carefully thought through in terms of timing and everything else.

‘So there might be a short-term hit to benefit the long term.’