Stadium Conundrum

For years Portsmouth Football Club has needed a new stadium. Fratton Park is a relic and despite all its character and tradition, it cannot continue to host Premiership football if our club is to move onto the next level and achieve the massive ambition it has. In recent times we were all promised that Fratton Park would be re-developed and there were "solid" plans that the development would be finished in 2008 when we would have a great new 35,000 steater stadium.

But these plans seem to be abolished now...

For those of you not completely up-to-date with the rumours it's become apparent that Alexandre Gaydamak has other ideas about how Pompey should go about getting a new stadium and it involves nothing to do with the current Fratton Park being redeveloped. Instead, Sacha wishes to build a new stadium elsewhere because of reported access issues there would be concerning the new Fratton Park. This would mean that Pompey would be leaving their home for well over a century. But where?

The latest local report suggests that our new stadium could be situated in Cosham. The King George V playing fields have been touted as a site to build a new 40,000 seater stadium. Cosham would be ideal for access however the fields are labelled green land and any such plan to build would be fought by local residents who have also voiced their anger at past plans for a fire station to be build on the same land. It has been suggested that the loss of green land for this building would be compensated for by space owned by IBM to be made into playing fields and such like.

Before the Cosham proposal, it was said that Farlington would be re-considered to build a new stadium but residential and environmental issues would then rear their ugly heads once again, making it difficult to force the council to make a decision. Tipnur was also considered as another possible area for development however current access problems would mean that more roads would have to be built or else Sacha is stuck with the reported problem he wants to be rid off in the first place.

Of course, for all we know the re-development of Fratton Park could still go ahead and Sacha has recently mysteriously purchased a disused factory near the ground. Whatever is happening we, as supporters deserve to know and the club should oblige in giving us the information we want as over the years we've become increasingly frustrated with plans falling through, constant delays and generally just not having a clue because the club won't tell us anything!

The people at the club need to shed some light on the situation so us fans aren't kept in the dark anymore. For a Premiership club PFC is sometimes ran like a conference club and it's just not good enough.

Knowing Pompey, it could be a long time before we find out the truth.