The challenges ahead as £11.5m Fratton Park redevelopment enters critical phase for Portsmouth

But work to finish the Milton End upgrade remains on course and within budget, with a ‘fully operational’ stand eyed by this autumn.

The overhaul and introduction of rail seating is continuing at a pace with a total 3,115 seats being installed, which will be flexible in how they are allocated to home and away fans.

Archaic facilities are being hugely improved with a big increase in toilets, particularly for women, and new disabled facilities introduced.

Four concessions are also being built along with a widened concourse to allow fans to congregate at the back of the stand.

On top of that, a media area, PA hub and new turnstiles are all on the agenda with an appearance designed to be in keeping with other parts of Fratton Park.

It’s the north east corner of the ground which is bringing the most challenges, as PMC Construction carry out the upgrades and install a new control room in that area.

Aligning the Miton End with the North Stand, which are different heights, as the corner is filled in has to be negotiated. That’s along with a lift shaft being installed while concrete stairs are going into steel fabricated stairs, all on unstable ground.

Chief executive Andy Cullen said: ‘The north east corner is the most complicated part of the whole two years of work being carried out.

‘The reason for this is we need to level up the areas in terms of corners and there’s a conflict between concrete and steel piling going in.

‘We also have a lift shaft going in which will be able to service the seats in the North Stand, as well as away supporters.

‘It will hold 16 people in the lift and be able to bring them up and down pretty quickly, giving our disabled supporters the chance to watch the game at a high level.

‘That’s something we’ve never had for away fans. They’ve had to sit with home supporters, which isn’t a great experience.

‘We’ll have two separate turnstiles and more seats coming in as well as a new control room, which will satisfy everything from a health and safety perspective.

‘It’s manned by club staff and will give people a degree of safety and security when they come in.

‘The north east corner will not be completed until the autumn, meaning we’ve got one set of turnstiles being used for the first part of the season in August and September.

‘That means for those first few games we can’t put any home fans into the Milton End. Come September or October we should be able to get both sets of fans in there, though, and start to fully use that south section of the Milton.

‘It’s a major step forward for Portsmouth Football Club.’

The Milton End is set to be used by away fans at the start of the 2023-24 season, with Cullen expecting it be functioning fully by this autumn.

He feels doing that on time and on budget in the face of the skyrocketing cost of materials and labour is impressive.

Cullen added: ‘In terms of the stadium, PMC and the sub-contractors continue to do a fantastic job.

‘Everything is on schedule and everything is being done to budget, which is no mean feat in the current environment.

‘So we will have seats operational in the Milton End for first game, albeit limited to away fans until the north corner is finished.

‘By autumn we’ll be in a position where it will be fully operational and we can get away supporters into the upper tier of the away end, as well as the wheelchair dedicated spaces in the North Stand.

‘It’s all on target and we’re really grateful for everyone who’s ensured that’s the case.’