Portsmouth chief Mark Catlin: High-risk timing - but vital Fratton Park work will keep North Stand open

And he insists the entire stand could next season have been off limits for health and safety reasons had the renovation not gone ahead.

At the start of April, during the early weeks of football’s suspension, Pompey initiated Fratton Park building work.

Should the season have resumed before August, with supporters allowed into grounds, it would have severely impacted upon capacity.

However, with a remaining completion timeframe of 4-6 weeks and no fan attendance for the foreseeable future, Catlin believes the club’s stance has proven correct.

He said: ‘The North stand work is coming on, it’s on schedule, on time and on budget. It is all looking good for hopefully when supporters are allowed back into the stadium.

‘This work is essential. In various reports, even going back to when the club was fan owned, it had been set out what was required.

‘The North stand was deteriorating annually and the work had to be carried out. There was a considerable risk that we may not have been reopened for next season.

‘If this work wasn’t taken out this summer, there was the potential for this whole stand to be closed. If not this season, definitely in coming seasons.

‘There were health and safety issues surrounding the stand’s structure. While the roof and cladding were severely degrading to the point it could have proven hazardous in certain weather conditions on a match day.

‘Work of such importance meant it was always going to be very, very tight to finish it in time in any normal season.

‘We could have done it in sections to enable fans to still have access to the stand for matches - but now we can do it all in one go.

‘Even early on (in the lockdown), you could tell that, should football resume, there couldn’t be supporters.

‘In talks with the executive team, builders PMC and the owners, there were no scenarios where fans would be allowed back this season.

‘As we said at the time, it could have been a high-risk decision.

‘But, given the circumstances and knowledge we had at the time and how the virus had gone in other countries, the chance of fans coming back this season was very small.’

Pompey are awaiting news on what format their League campaign will return in.

Regardless of whether completing the remaining fixtures or a play-off competition, supporters will not be allowed into Fratton Park.

Catlin added: ‘It is scheduled to total 14 weeks, so everyone can see the scale of the project. The whole of the roof, the cladding the back, all the steel beams, everything has been taken off.

‘It has given us the opportunity to open up the structural framework of the stand itself and, where needed, to replace and repair steelwork.’

A message from the Editor

Thank you for reading this story on portsmouth.co.uk. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to portsmouth.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit our Subscription page now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.