Portsmouth moved to their current training ground base in 2014 but plenty has changed at the location since then, particularly since June 2021.
That was when Portsmouth acquired the freehold of the Roko facility in the Hilsea area of the city for £3m and the club have been redeveloping the site since.
Pompey announced it was the first time they had owned their own training ground. This was a seismic moment for the Fratton Park club in their storied history.
Michael Eisner, chairman, told Portsmouth’s official website at the time: “This is an exciting opportunity that offers huge scope for the future of Portsmouth FC.
“We have been able to secure a large piece of open space within this great city, allowing us to own our own training facility. It’s an amazing step forward for the club.
“This is a vital component of our general strategy to continue growing the club in a sustainable manner, which should bear fruit both on and off the pitch for many years to come.”
Portsmouth training ground name
Portsmouth’s training ground is called Pompey Health & Fitness Club after the club completely rebranded the Copnor Road site.
It was previously called the Roko Health Club and provided the general public with indoor gym and swimming pool facilities, as well as a number of grass pitches and tennis courts.
Portsmouth training ground redevelopment
Portsmouth moved to the Roko facility in 2014 and leased the land for seven years until purchasing it via a £3m freehold acquisition deal in 2021. They renamed it Pompey Health & Fitness Club and millions have since been spent on redevelopment.
Initially, Portsmouth focused work on the indoor facilities. The gym was upgraded, as well as the swimming pool and changing areas. A new sauna, jacuzzi and steam room were then added.
Portsmouth also plan to accommodate the first-team and academy’s needs by building a separate gym, analysis site, common room, lecture theatre and medical facilities.
The club’s main goal overall is to enhance the training ground’s indoor and outdoor facilities for the first-team squad, who currently make use of the grass pitches and Portakabins onsite.
The first floor of the main building is planned to be used permanently by the first-team in the future and a reported £1m is set to be spent towards that goal. The Portakabins are scheduled to be removed and in turn will create more room for new outdoor pitches to be built.
Chief executive Andy Cullen stated early in 2024 that the club’s vision is to build a dome facility but it is understood no plans have been made on what would be an ambitious project.
Cullen has grand plans for the training ground, calling it the club’s ‘masterplan’. He told The News: “We want to establish it as one of the premier training sites and training grounds in the south of England and make sure we can compete.
“There are great sites at Southampton and Brighton, it’s about making sure that Pompey can compete on a level playing field.
“For any football club that doesn’t own its training ground, you can be a bit of a hostage to fortune, you are not in control, you maybe can’t do things that you want to do.”
How many pitches does Portsmouth’s training ground have?
Andy Cullen explained in April 2023 how many pitches the Pompey Health & Fitness Club site has for the Portsmouth first-team, coaching staff and academy for training.
He said: “We currently have three full-sized pitches, including the Academy pitch at the back, as well as a half-sized pitch, which is used as a warm-up area.
“We can look at introducing an additional full-size pitch and another 60×40 pitch (three-quarter sized), which is suitable for younger age-group football.”
Cullen stressed that the full training ground project could take a few more years before completion but will be ‘meaningful’ in the end.
Address
Pompey Health & Fitness Club address: 442 Copnor Road, Hilsea, Portsmouth, PO3 5EW