Summary : The home of Portsmouth Football Club. The ground was built in 1898 on the site of a market garden. A pitch was laid and a temporary south stand and a cover for the north end were erected. In 1905 a mock Tudor pavilion was built at the Frogmore Road end. In 1920 the club had joined the league and in 1925 built a new south stand which was designed by Archibald Leitch. This was a standard double decker Leitch design with 3,961 seats and space for 6,685 on the terrace. The North stand was replaced in 1934-5 and in 1956 a cover was added to the Fratton end which was demolished in 1988. Between 1988 and 1993 the ground was refurbished following recommendations made in the Taylor report for an all seater stadium. In 2005, plans were afoot for the ground to undergo redevelopment under Scottish contractors Barr Ltd with two new stands increasing capacity to at least 28,000 people. Fratton park was used for football prelims in the 1948 Olympic games, one of only two venues outside London. |
More information : The home of Portsmouth Football Club. The ground was built in 1898 on the site of a market garden. A pitch was laid and a temporary south stand and a cover for the north end were erected. In 1905 a mock Tudor pavilion was built at the Frogmore Road end. In 1920 the club had joined the league and in 1925 built a new south stand which was designed by Archibald Leitch. The North stand was replaced in 1934-5 and in 1956 a cover was added to the Fratton end which was demolished in 1988. Between 1988 and 1993 the ground was refurbished following recommendations made in the Taylor report for an all seater stadium. (1)
In 1925 a new south stand was designed by Archibald Leitch. This was a standard double decker Leitch design with 3,961 seats and space for 6,685 on the terrace. The stand was still extant 80 years later. In 2005, the ground was due to undergo redevelopment under Scottish contractors Barr Ltd with two new stands increasing capacity to at least 28,000 people. Half of the South Stand was to be retained. (2-3)
Since 2005 various plans have been put forward to develop a new stadium elsewhere, however financial constraints have meant a reversal to the original proposal to rotate the existing pitch at Fratton Park by 90 degrees and increased capacity of 30,000, finished end 2010. In 2011, plans to spend money redeveloping Fratton Park were announced, with improvements to changing rooms and toilets. (4) |