On this day: Portsmouth fans told 30,000-seater Fratton Park revamp and pitch move is back on - but club is told 'get on with it'

After years of getting supporters excited about ambitious stadium schemes at various new sites, Pompey announced a redevelopment at Fratton Park.

The plans – almost identical to those first announced by former Blues chairman Milan Mandaric in 2003 – would have seen the pitch turned round and stands rebuilt in order to eventually create a 30,000-seater stadium.

Mandaric’s plan was ditched in 2005 after protests from fans in the North Stand, who would have had to sit 30 yards from the pitch for a season as the stadium was redeveloped.

But in 2009 the club saw rebuilding Fratton as the best option of increasing capacity in the short term.

It said several factors, including the credit crunch, meant it could not now press ahead with its proposed 36,000-seater stadium at Horsea Island.

Portsmouth FC executive chairman Peter Storrie told those at a fans' forum that the club remained committed to a new stadium at Horsea Island, but confirmed the club planned to start work on expanding Fratton Park in November of that year.

It was stated if the Horsea Island plan happened at all it would not be until at least 2018 – or even as late as 2022 to tally with an FA Cup bid to host the World Cup.

At the fans’ forum, Mr Storrie said: ‘This will give us a good extra stream of money and let more people see Portsmouth play at Fratton Park.

'We’re committed to build a new stadium at Horsea but that will be later now, because the club has no money and in the current climate we have very little chance of it being part-financed by development companies.’

Mr Storrie told the 200 Pompey fans at the forum that the plans to rotate the pitch 90 degrees and rebuild the North Stand, East Stand and parts of the Fratton End, would cost 22m – the majority of which would be funded by a supermarket on site.

He said: ‘Plans we agreed with Portsmouth City Council five years ago were granted with a 600 unit residential development underpinning the final cost.

'In this climate, no-one will step forward to build something like that.

'Instead, we will have a supermarket on site, which will cover 70 per cent of the costs.’

At the time, fan Paul Read, of Waterlooville, said: I’ve had a season ticket since the 1960s and I’ve heard a lot about new grounds and redevelopments in the past.

'Fratton Park needs it. It’s the worst ground in the top two divisions and the sooner that changes the better.’

Portsmouth regular Dominic Curzon added: ‘It’s the right choice and I hope it happens.

‘There’s been a lot of talk in the past about plans like this and I’ll believe it when I see it. But it’s what we need now.’