There is no timescale on when Portsmouth will expand Fratton Park, owner Michael Eisner has stated, with other priorities in place.

The club has been controlled by the former CEO of Disney since 2017 and, despite a few bumps along the road, has helped bring Pompey back into the Championship.

However, having fought to remain up last season, the club felt like they were at a crossroads this summer as there were uncertainties over John Mousinho’s future, and questions about the vision of the club.

However the boss remains at Fratton Park and some investment has been made in the side, with Abu Kamara, Rocco Shein and Marko Milovanovic all arriving.

Michael Eisner talks about expanding Fratton Park stadium in Portsmouth

“So the emphasis has been on improving the team this summer but looking to the long-term the supporters are wanting to see renovations made to Fratton Park.

With a capacity of just over 20,000, the famous ground isn’t the biggest in the Championship by any means, but it is still one of the greatest in the country in terms of atmosphere it can create.

There have been proposals to increase the size of the stadium with Pompey having a waiting list of fans who want season tickets.

That would be a long-term gain, of course, but it would come at a large expense and would also wreak havoc on attendance in the short-term.

Speaking to the BBC, Eisner said that while they have looked into this, they have no plans to undertake any development at the time.

It’s going to happen some day but you can’t put a date on it. Yes I want additional seats and want to please everybody but I don’t think we need them at the moment.

“We have quite a bit of real estate around the stadium which we have bought with a view to one day building a new extension to the fourth stand. The bridge is also a big feature of it. We really don’t like the thought of having another five or six thousand people when so many have to walk on that extremely small corridor to get here.

We’d love to have an expansion but I would have to ask the people what they want us to spend our money on. We want to make some television series, some documentaries and keep investing in the players. We need to create a third pitch in our training ground as well. “There are a lot of things we have to do and there are only so many things you can afford.”

It is right for Portsmouth to focus on the team in the short-term
You could not blame anyone for saying Portsmouth could do with making Fratton Park bigger but it is simple for fans to say that when the reality is it is a massive undertaking that would need substantial expenditure.

“So you can see why Eisner isn’t prioritising it right now. The most important thing is what’s on the pitch.

This is their third year in the Championship so you might argue they are still not totally established at this level, but with the new play-off system there’s no reason why they can’t dream of earning promotion, whether that’s this year or in the coming several years.

Portsmouth Championship 25/26 Stats

Gaming

46

Winner 14

Drawn 13 Lost 19 GD

-15 Points 55 Place 18th

To do so Portsmouth need to spend their resources into developing the team and to be honest that is what they have done this summer even if fans properly questioned the ambition of Eisner in the past.

“Mousinho has got a manager who is very highly-rated in the game and has had success, so it’s about giving him as much support as possible.

Work on Fratton Park can then commence at some point in the future, although you can see why the south coast club do not see it as a priority at the moment.