Portsmouth owner Michael Eisner drops new Fratton Park expansion update | OneFootball

Portsmouth owner Michael Eisner has admitted that expanding Fratton Park is not a priority for the club right now.

Portsmouth owner Michael Eisner has revealed that there is no timeframe for when they will expand Fratton Park, as he admitted there are other priorities.

The former CEO of Disney has owned Pompey since 2017, and whilst there have been some bumps in the road, he has helped guide the club back to the Championship.

However, after battling to stay up last season, the club felt like they were at a crossroads this summer, as there were doubts about John Mousinho’s future, and questions about the ambition of the club.

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Yet, the boss has remained at Fratton Park, and some investment has gone into the side, with Abu Kamara, Rocco Shein and Marko Milovanovic among the new arrivals.

Michael Eisner discusses expanding Portsmouth’s Fratton Park stadium

So, the focus has been on improving the team this summer, but, looking to the long-term, the supporters are hoping to see changes made to Fratton Park.

The iconic ground remains one of the best in the country in terms of the atmosphere it can generate, but with a capacity of just over 20,000, it certainly isn’t the biggest in the Championship.

Therefore, with Pompey having a waiting list for fans who want season tickets, there have been calls to make the stadium bigger.

Of course, that would have a long-term benefit, but it would incur a substantial cost, as well as disrupting the attendance in the short-term.

And, with that in mind, Eisner told the BBC that whilst it’s something they have looked into, there are no plans to start any development at the moment.

“It'll happen someday, but we can't put a date on it. I'd like to have more seats and satisfy everybody but I don't think we need them right now.

“We've bought quite a bit of real estate around the stadium in anticipation of someday building a new addition to the fourth stand. The bridge is an important part of it too. We just don't like the idea of having another five or six thousand people while many must walk on that very narrow walkway to get here.

“We'd like it [an expansion] but I would have to ask the fans what they want us to spend our money on. We want to do some television shows, some documentaries and continue investing in the players. We have to build a third pitch in our training ground too. There are a lot of things we have to do and there are only so many things you can afford.”

Portsmouth are right to prioritise the team in the short-term

There’s no denying that Portsmouth could do with making Fratton Park bigger, but it’s easy for fans to say that, when the reality is that it is a massive project that would require major investment.

So, you can understand why Eisner is not making it a priority right now, as what goes on the pitch is the most important thing.

This is their third straight year in the Championship, so you could argue that they are still not fully established at this level, but with the new play-off system, there’s no reason why they can’t dream of winning promotion, whether that’s this year or in the next few years.

To do that, Portsmouth must put their resources into improving the team, and, to be fair, that’s what they have done this summer, even if fans rightly questioned the ambition of Eisner in the past.

In Mousinho, they have a manager that has delivered success, and he is very highly-rated in the game, so it’s about giving him as much support as possible.

Then, at some point down the line, work can start on Fratton Park, but right now you can understand why the south coast outfit don’t see it as a priority.