Some of the biggest names in the game have applauded the old girl’s unique charm and atmosphere, recognising the Frogmore Road ground as one of their favourites.
In their own words, they describe just why Fratton Park is so special…
9. Steve Claridge
'The Stockport atmosphere was as good as people reminisce about. It was constant, non-stop, growing louder as the game went on. You would never believe 8,622 people were present to conjure up this cacophony of noise reverberating around.
'Everybody sang, not just one or two, everybody. It was so special.
'I have played at Wembley in a Coca-Cola Cup final, featured in a play-off final against Crystal Palace and, while at Birmingham, had to win at Huddersfield Town in the final match of the season to take the Division Two title.
'Well, the Stockport atmosphere was right up there among such occasions.'
(Played Up Pompey Too, 2017) Photo: Craig Prentis
10. Steve Stone
'Away teams really didn't want to play at Fratton Park because of the distance and the stadium itself.
'The changing rooms are horrendous, absolutely horrendous, and let’s not forget the mindset of the professional footballer is everywhere they go they are kings, whether on buses, private jets, it’s travelling first class. Then you go to Pompey.
'Stood in that Fratton Park tunnel you saw the opposition thinking ‘What’s going on here?’. I was once one of those players, I knew exactly how they felt.
'The whole place is set up for the home team, if you have a half-decent side you can exploit it extremely well - and I loved playing in that environment.
'I like smaller cities, I like football clubs I feel part of, I like being in a team structure and the teams I did well at, such as Forest and Pompey, had those positive elements.'
(Played Up Pompey Too, 2017) Photo: Mike Hewitt
11. Shaka Hislop
'I loved Pompey, I loved everything about it.
'At the time, football was starting to move away from those small, intimate, old-fashioned, tight grounds, instead it was about the construction of big stadiums - but I liked playing at places like Fratton Park.
'The fans are right on top of you and you can feel the atmosphere, while it can sometimes be tough for the opposition to visit.'
(Played Up Pompey Three, 2020) Photo: Jamie McDonald
12. Niko Kranjcar
'As for Fratton Park, I love it. The majority of stadiums in Croatia have a track around the pitch, half of them were used for athletics as well as football, which made an atmosphere even harder to create.
'As for the passion of the support, well I’ve played at Tottenham Hotspur and Glasgow Rangers - and the Pompey fans are definitely second to none.'
(Played Up Pompey Three, 2020) Photo: Bryn Lennon