Exclusive:'I don't want to destroy that': Portsmouth chairman Michael Eisner's admission about future of North Stand project
According to latest Blues accounts, Tornante have put around £25m into developing Fratton Park since 2017
A new North Stand is not currently on Pompey’s agenda, according to chairman Michael Eisner.
Instead owners Tornante insist they are prioritising the funding of John Mousinho’s first-team plans as the Blues focus on striving for Championship progress.
The Eisners have invested around £25m into developing Fratton Park since taking over in August 2017, including renovation of the Milton End, South Stand and North Stand.
However, long-time proposals to expand the North Stand have yet to come to fruition, much to the ongoing frustration of many supporters.
With a season-ticket waiting list of around 3,000, a new North Stand could increase Fratton Park’s capacity to 25,000, while introducing much-needed conferencing and hospitality facilities to bolster revenue streams.
Yet while Eisner is adamant the project remains part of his Pompey vision, potential moves to implement it will take place ‘at a later date’.
‘Right now, the plan is really to focus on the pitch’
The Blues chairman told The News: ‘There are plans for the North Stand, we just haven’t pushed the button. We don’t have the detailed architecture, but we know what we want.
‘We would not do the North Stand without the bridge. But, if we decided to do the North Stand, the bridge is the least expensive compared to building a whole stand.
‘The issue is we only have so much capital and, in terms of the development of the club right now, the plan is really to focus on the pitch.
‘We have got Fratton Park very comfortable, people love it, people want to be here. Now let’s focus on the team and the rise in the Championship - and then we can strategically do that (the North Stand) at a later date.
‘Do we want to be in a construction site for two years? No. Do we like the pressure of supporters getting into a very sacred place? Yes.
‘Our growth to pay for these players is expanding the media, expanding our broadcast services, expanding our merchandising. Our revenue is in a couple of big areas and yes the stadium is one of them, but it’s not the biggest one. The biggest one is the future of media around the world, merchandising and all that.
‘To get a few more thousand seats and put everybody in construction for the next two years is just not worth it. Would we like 25,000 rather than 21,000? Of course. But I don't want to get so big that there are empty seats. Empty seats drive me crazy because television sees those empty seats.
‘We have a brilliant, emotional fanbase, this is part of their life, I don’t want to destroy that. It was hard enough closing the Milton End, but we had to do that because it was falling apart. I only wish it could be higher, but we couldn’t because of the light impacting the houses behind.’
Portsmouth City Council’s Local Plan
A potential North Stand expansion is in line with Portsmouth City Council’s pre-submission Local Plan from July 2024, which details development plans for the entire Pompey Centre area.
Pompey’s overall proposals also include 710 new homes, ‘small-scale’ commercial outlets and a hotel - yet an upgrade in public transport linking the area is regarded as critical.
Tornante have joined forces with Portsmouth City Council and then-Pompey Centre owners M7 Real Estate to fund the feasibility study for a new bridge from Fratton Station.
However, in March, Andy Cullen told The News that costs from initial findings was ‘extraordinarily high.’
‘To me, the development is fun’
Eisner added: ‘One of the things we are doing - which we have done successfully - is find a way when we decide to do it (build a North Stand).
‘We will have a right to do it, we deal with the city, we deal with the people who own some of the peripheral land. We have the idea.
‘If we get to the Premier League, you look at the things we have to do, like a heated pitch, all that sort of stuff, I am excited about that. To me, the development is fun.
‘Taking something on from nine years ago. I am proud of the fact this management is taking this club to a new level. We are not the final level, but a new level.’