Farewell to Fratton Park's iconic camber: Detailed look at Portsmouth's 'milestone' £1.5m pitch project
Work on the Fratton Park pitch project is scheduled to finish in mid-June
Broken pottery, a substantial amount of scallop shells and three previous layers of drainage dating back from 70 years have already been unearthed beneath the Fratton Park pitch.
Plus the discovery of remnants of the distinctive red ash cinder track which once ran along the front of the South Stand.
Pompey’s pitch is undergoing a £1.5m renovation, described as ‘a milestone’ in the club’s long history by PMC Construction’s Steve Cripps.
The installation of a new hybrid sand-based pitch, plus improved drainage, will offer a considerably better playing surface which will also now accommodate every Pompey Women fixture.
As a consequence of flattening the pitch and effectively rebuilding from scratch, the iconic camber occupying the centre of the Fratton Park pitch has been removed, although playing surface dimensions will remain 100m x 66m.
Work began on May 5, days after the completion of the Blues’ Championship season, and Cripps is overseeing the extensive project.
‘This is a milestone. We have started from scratch’
PMC Construction’s managing director told The News: ‘This is a milestone. We have started from scratch, so, in essence, it’s an entirely new pitch.
‘At one point, we were one of the only soil-based pitches around. Then, 7-8 years ago, we went to our first carpet, but the drainage wasn’t installed.
‘So there was a carpet laid over poor infrastructure, poor drainage, so this is a significant milestone. It’s probably the first time in the club’s history that the pitch has been entirely ripped up - and we have come across three different drainage systems.
‘Those different systems have been installed over the years, with refurbishments on top of them creating a height addition, so the pitch has risen. We have now removed all three, including the original clay pipe drainage and later plastic pipes.
‘The camber in the middle of the pitch has gone completely. There were high points and low points of the ground, so, if you looked at the far left-hand corner at the Milton End, that's the lowest point of the pitch.
‘If you come to the north-west corner, that’s the highest point of the pitch. Then the pitch rose about 200-250mm in the middle, with the centre of the dip higher than the sidelines.
‘Previously, if you sat in that Lower North section, you could see the camber, but you didn’t see the South Stand touchline. Some LED boards were also hidden because the pitch was higher.
‘The views should now be better, all improved everywhere. There are obviously some points in the ground where it’s different, but, overall, the impact should be noticeable.
‘There is about another 4,000 tonnes to come off this, then drainage will be installed - primary and secondary. Then it’s about introducing the pitch make up, which is soil, then sand, then a carpet, then more sand and then it’s seeded.
‘It should be finished around mid-June. The seeds will then be put into the ground, with the groundsmen requiring six weeks to grow that, although ground conditions need to be in their favour.’
8,000 tonnes of soil to be recycled
Excess soil generated from the Fratton Park project is expected to reach 8,000 tonnes, consisting of sub soil and top soil.
Having been certified as clean by Merebrook Environmental and Engineering Consultants, it’s in the process of being transported to Victory Quay, the former Tipner East site which is being redeveloped by Vivid Housing Association.
With the new pitch requiring additional grow lights, a new 1200kva sub station is to be introduced next to the North Stand car park in May/June to offer more power capacity.
And the improved playing surface and drainage will enable Pompey Women to relocate permanently from Westleigh Park, having played four matches at Fratton Park this season.
‘The playing surface will be perfect’
Cripps added: ‘Pretty much all clubs in the Championship have hybrid pitches, you don’t see grass pitches anywhere now, maybe in League Two.
‘This is a replacement of a hybrid pitch, which is a carpet and then has grass grown into it. When you see a sliding challenge on TV, you don’t see mud any more, you see the fibres go through.
‘The ability to play more games on the pitch is mainly driven by drainage - and our drainage was poor before. It was broken in the middle and at the far end, failing in places.
‘The carpet was also at an end of life, so it needed to be replaced, enabling us to play multi-games, such as Pompey Women.
‘The playing surface will be perfect, that’s one big improvement, while the drainage will be able to cope with heavy rains. Elsewhere, the sight lines for the bulk of the stadium will be vastly improved, people won’t be looking at these cambers any longer, it will be a direct playing surface.
‘And, from the perspective of the groundsmen, they have a much easier pitch to control.’
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