December 23 – Portsmouth’s plans for a new stadium are again in the balance after the Council dropped plans to designate an area of the city for development for a state-of-the-art ground for the Premier League strugglers.
Portsmouth Council had earmarked a plot of land at Horsea Island next to the M275 for a new 45,000-capacity stadium but in a new draft document outlining the long-term strategy of the city up until 2026 the idea has been removed.
David Williams, the chief executive of Portsmouth City Council said: “In drafting the new Portsmouth Plan – our overall plan for the city up to 2026 – there has been a shift in our approach, following discussions with the club.
“The club is looking to concentrate on increasing capacity at Fratton Park, with a Horsea Island stadium a long-term possibility.
“So in the plan, we’re likely to include a statement recognising this long-term aspiration.
“This is instead of formally allocating land at Horsea Island to a stadium in the plan.
“If there were such a formal allocation, the Council would have to provide detailed evidence of how a stadium would be provided, which isn’t available at this stage.”
Portsmouth fans had enthusiastically backed the club’s ambitious plans for a £100 million stadium at Horsea Island when it was first unveiled in June last year.
It was hailed as the most realistic option in a string of failed attempts at relocating the ground.
But since then the club said it would first concentrate on redeveloping Fratton Park, while hoping to make the Horsea dream a reality at a later date.
Now the Council’s shift in policy means a revamp of Fratton Park looks set to be the only option until at least 2026, when the Portsmouth Plan expires.
Councillor Alistair Thompson, the Deputy Leader of the Conservative group on the Council, said: ”With the club struggling financially, Horsea Island seemed a stretch too far.
“Getting Fratton Park working better than it does is a more sensible option.”
Portsmouth’s chief executive Peter Storrie told City Councillors last month that a planning application for Fratton Park would be submitted within a month.
Club spokesman Gary Double said: “The new owner still has plans to build a new stadium, although of course we were looking towards the 2018 World Cup at the time the city was considering a bid to be a host city.”
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