Fratton Park

Fratton Park
Fratton Park
Fratton Park entrance.jpg
The iconic mock Tudor facade
Location Frogmore Road, Portsmouth PO4 8RA
Coordinates 50°47′47″N 1°3′50″W / 50.79639°N 1.06389°W / 50.79639; -1.06389Coordinates: 50°47′47″N 1°3′50″W / 50.79639°N 1.06389°W / 50.79639; -1.06389
Built 1898
Opened 1898
Capacity 21,100
Field dimensions 115 x 73 yards
Tenants
Portsmouth F.C. (1898–present)

Fratton Park is a football stadium in the English city-port of Portsmouth. It has been the home of professional club Portsmouth F.C. since its construction in 1898.

Contents

Description

The stadium currently has four stands, all seated. The pitch runs from east to west. The largest and most modern stand, at the ground's western end, is the Fratton End (commercially known by its sponsor name as JobSite UK stand). Along either side of the pitch are the North and South stands, both of which are two-tiered. At the eastern end is the Milton End (sponsored as Apollo stand), by far the smallest stand. Formerly the only roofless stand in the Premier League, a roof was added before the 2007/08 season. This stand is shared between home and away supporters. The original entrance to the Fratton End is notable for its mock Tudor façade. Following the arrival of former owner Alexandre Gaydamak several renovations were made to Fratton Park, including improved dressing rooms, the above-mentioned roof over the Milton end and a big-screen above the police box between the North Stand and Milton End. The North Stand was refreshed for the 2010/2011 season with renewed sponsorship by Mercedes-Benz (Ridgeway Group) which replaced the "Fratton Park Portsmouth" and the club crest.

The stadium is served by Fratton railway station (about 10 minutes' walk away), which is located on the Portsmouth Direct Line.

Ridgeway Group North Stand

Milton End (Known as the Linvoy Primus Community Stand for 2010/11 Season)

South Stand

The Jobsite Fratton End Stand

History

The Main Stand was designed by renowned football architect Archibald Leitch, whose company also built an ornate pavilion (similar to Craven Cottage) complete with clocktower. However, these were largely removed with the expansion of the ground.

The first match at Fratton Park was a friendly against local rivals Southampton, which was won 2–0, with goals from Dan Cunliffe (formerly with Liverpool) and Harold Clarke (formerly with Everton).[1]

Fratton Park hosted a first-round football game in the 1948 Summer Olympics (one of only two grounds outside London, the other being the now disappeared Goldstone Ground). It hosted one full England international match on 2 March 1903 against Wales[2] and has also hosted some England U-21 internationals. Pompey was the first club to stage a Football League match under floodlights, in a 22 February 1956 game against Newcastle United. New floodlight towers were constructed in 1962.

Fratton Park was (until the addition of Blackpool's Bloomfield Road to the Premier League in 2010 and Portsmouth's own relegation to the Championship) the football ground with the lowest maximum capacity in the Premier League. However, it has held 51,385 for an FA Cup match against Derby County in 1949. The capacity has in recent years been much reduced by the introduction of compulsory seating.

Future development

The ground as viewed from the Milton End in September 2006

The ground has been home to the club throughout its entire history. The old stadium has been refurbished and repaired, but the current facilities are showing signs of age by comparison to clubs in the Premier League that have either built a new stadium or significantly redeveloped existing facilities, along modern, less working-class lines, abolishing traditional features, which, however, have so far been preserved at Fratton Park, despite relocation being suggested as long ago as the early 1990s.

At the end of the 2003/04 season, the club having survived its first season in the Premier League, plans were developed to build a new stadium on the site of an adjacent disused rail-freight depot. These plans, which were supported by the City Council, would also have allowed a much needed increase in ground capacity, but it was claimed that it would be impossible to achieve on the current footprint because of the close proximity of residential housing.

Before work could begin, however, the plans were superseded by a new proposal to redevelop more or less on the existing site, but realigning the pitch 90 degrees to accommodate a larger capacity stadium, funded in part by a "Pompey Village" residential, hotel and retail project on the adjacent site. Work on the stadium was due to commence in the summer of 2006, and the first new stands were to be opening before the 2007/08 season.

Again, before work could begin, the plans were dropped, with yet another proposal announced on 25 April 2007 that would see a 36,000 capacity stadium on reclaimed mud flats close to Portsmouth Naval Base.[3] These plans were ambitious and included creating a leisure village around the stadium, complete with 1500 waterfront apartments as well as restaurants and other facilities.

The proposal for a new stadium was widely supported, although cautiously by many that were conscious that the waterfront location proposed in the outline plans would be surrounded on three sides, by the Naval Base, harbour itself and railway, thus leaving only one end for access by residents and supporters. Critics also pointed out that the mudflats the stadium was proposed to sit on was close to an area of Site of Special Scientific Interest, would be difficult to get to by road and had nowhere near the amount of car parking facilities needed for such an enterprise [Portsmouth is an Island, with road access by only three routes from the north, and the waterfront site was close to the south-west extremity of the island].

These plans were also dropped before work could begin. The club had undertaken consultation and there were a number of objectors to the proposal, no least about the problems that 36,000 fans would cause to the local travel infrastructure. The Royal Navy also said that the proposal would cause problems with the proposed introduction of their new super-size aircraft carriers.

In 2008, a fourth set of plans were approved, to build a new 35,000 capacity stadium and leisure/residential complex on Horsea Island.[4] In 2009 the Horsea Island development was put on hold due to financial issues.[5] The previous proposal to rotate the existing pitch at Fratton Park by 90 degrees was re-instated.[5] Work was due to begin late 2009, with a gradual increase in capacity until completion in 2010 ending with a capacity of 30,000.[6]

In 2011, plans to spend money redeveloping Fratton Park were announced, with improvements to changing rooms and toilets.[7]

Details

Records

Record Attendance: 51,385 v Derby County 26 February 1949, FA Cup Sixth Round

Average attendances

Season Average attendance
1989–90 18,959
1990–91 19,681
1991–92 11,789
1992–93 13,706
1993–94 11,692
1994–95 8,629
1995–96 9,503
1996–97 8,723
1997–98 11,149
1998–99 11,956
1999–00 13,906
2000–01 13,707
2001–02 15,121
2002–03 18,934
2003–04 20,108
2004–05 20,072
2005-06 19,840
2006–07 19,862
2007–08 20,438
2008–09 19,830

See also

  • Portsmouth F.C.
  • List of English football stadiums by capacity
  • Ground improvements at English football Stadia

References

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Fratton Park — Fratton Park, Sep 2006 Daten Ort England …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Fratton Park — Généralités Adresse Frogmore Road, Portsmouth PO4 8RA Devon, Angleterre Coordonnées …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Fratton Park — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Fratton Park Localización Fratton, Portsmouth …   Wikipedia Español

  • Fratton railway station — Infobox UK station name = Fratton caption = Looking North West code = FTN manager = South West Trains locale = Fratton borough = Portsmouth usage0405 = 1.246 usage0506 = 1.289 usage0607 = 1.369 platforms = 3 years = 1 July 1885 events = Opened… …   Wikipedia

  • Fratton, Portsmouth — infobox UK place country = England official name= Fratton population = lieutenancy england= Hampshire unitary england= Portsmouth region= South East England constituency westminster= Portsmouth South post town= PORTSMOUTH postcode district= PO1… …   Wikipedia

  • Pride Park — Stadium Daten Ort England …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Villa Park (Stadion) — Villa Park Der Villa Park vor einem Heimspiel von Aston Villa Daten …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • St. James' Park — St James Park Daten Ort England …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • St James' Park — Daten Ort England …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Villa Park — For other uses, see Villa Park (disambiguation). Villa Park View of the North and Doug Ellis stands Former names Aston Lower Grounds Location Trinity Road, B …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”