Portsmouth chairman Michael Eisner: Redevelopment cost four times more than expected - but leaving wonderful Fratton Park was never considered

But the Blues chairman is adamant owners Tornante never considered moving the club away from its 123-year-old home.

Work has now commenced on rebuilding the Milton End, representing the final phase of the ongoing project.

The North Stand and South Stand have already been overhauled since August 2021, with impressive results.

Yet despite rising costs, Eisner is convinced remaining at Fratton Park is the right decision.

He told The News: ‘Work on Fratton Park was four times more costly than we anticipated, I would say.

‘Most due diligence is inappropriate or doesn’t match what you really have to do to make it quality.

‘The seats were broken and not good enough, the roof leaked, it wasn’t safe, we had to make wider places for people to stand during half-time, we needed to put a lift in so the disabled can come up higher in the stand and not get wet from rain dripping off the roof, we had to improve the bathrooms dramatically, particularly the women’s bathrooms.

‘All these things are expected in a contemporary sporting environment – but we never thought about leaving Fratton Park.

‘We drove over the bridge (M275) and somebody said this was the place they were once talking about moving to, but I never went to look anywhere.

‘From the day we were here when the team won promotion to League One, there was never a question in my mind we were going to move once inch away, or change the colour, or change the logo.

‘It came up in the discussions of the acquisition, but not something we thought about.

‘Even though the fans were scared to death that we were going to move it off the island, it didn’t even occur to us. Why fix something that’s not broken?

‘By the way, they would be the questions I would ask, those were the right questions. So many owners come into all these teams in England with these crazy ideas of what they’re going to do.

‘Things such as building a brand new stadium which is too big and getting themselves into debt, then not paying off their players and getting relegated. That was not what we figured on doing.

‘We could never put the club into an SO zipcode.’

The Eisner family returned to America following Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Shrewsbury, following a five-day stay on the south coast.

It coincided with two home League One matches at a stadium the chairman revels visiting.

Eisner added: ‘I don’t think you play around with something that’s working.

‘The atmosphere we noticed when looking to acquire the club, the atmosphere when the club won promotion from League Two, it was so amazing.

‘The audience is so behind the team, you are close to the pitch, the acoustics are great. It’s fantastic.’