Portsmouth chief voices concerns over Fratton Park pre-season friendly amid £1.5m project
Work has begun on installing a new pitch at Fratton Park in time for the 2025-26 season
Fratton Park hosting a pre-season friendly this summer is in the balance.
Pompey are in the process of installing a hybrid pitch and improved drainage as part of a £1.5m project, with work beginning on Tuesday morning.
According to Andy Cullen, it is hoped the new playing surface will be completed in time to host a friendly on Saturday, August 1.
However, the chief executive is wary about the pitch potentially requiring additional time to settle by that stage.
As a contingency plan, the Blues have pencilled in home and away friendlies on the final Saturday before the season kicks off with a Carabao Cup fixture on August 8.
Yet, at this juncture, he is unable to clarify either way where it will take place.
‘What we don’t want to do is rush the pitch back early’
Cullen told The News: ‘We are exploring whether we can play a pre-season friendly on the weekend of August 1, with the Carabao Cup on the 8th.
‘What we don't want to do is rush the pitch back early and then regret it later in the season because we haven’t given the pitch or grass enough time to bed in.
‘In an ideal world, a Fratton Park friendly would certainly be something we’d want to do - but I don’t want to do it at the expense of the pitch.
‘A club a couple of years ago laid down a similar pitch to us and their feedback was they wished they had given themselves a couple more weeks before playing on it for the first time.
‘I am mindful of that, I will be guided by the professionals and experts.’
Hosted PEC Zwolle in August 2025
The Blues last summer hosted Dutch side PEC Zwolle at Fratton Park in their final pre-season match.
Thomas Waddingham grabbed the only goal of the game in front of a 8,237 crowd, which included 226 travelling fans.
That represented Pompey’s first home friendly since entertaining Bristol City two years earlier in July 2023, with ongoing Fratton Park work previously thwarting them.
The Blues are currently finalising their pre-season programme, including a week-long training camp in July. However, Mousinho has again ruled out a match taking place during the camp.
Cullen added: ‘We will tie something together in the next 2-3 weeks - which is what we are doing - because we want to get that pre-season programme totally nailed down in terms of pictures.
‘There are options at the moment to potentially play a home friendly and there is a potential to play an away friendly as well.
‘So I can give the first-team that degree of confidence as to which way they are going.’