It was such a beautiful day on Saturday so I decided to take a few pictures of Fratton Park before the game against Blackpool.
It's so different to most of the other stadiums I've photographed over the last 12 months or so. The closest to Fratton Park has been Ashton Gate, Bristol. But there's something about Pompey's stadium which is just that little bit more special than Bristol City's ground IMHO.
Whereas some modern stadia have images and statues outside of times gone by, things I absolutely love by the way, Fratton Park doesn't have that. The history is the ground itself, the way it looks and feels, it's position, the tightness of the streets and alleyways around it, the four floodlight pylons which stand tall and proud as clearly recognisable city landmarks.
As I said on Twitter before the game it's a proper football stadium, a throw back if you will.
At some point in the future Pompey must have a new stadium, the club cannot move forward without one. In the meantime enjoy these pictures. Oh and don't forget to absorb its history every time you visit from hereonin because once it's gone it's gone...
The view of Fratton Park from the bridge at Fratton Station.
Fratton in reverse at the end of the Fratton railway bridge!
Back of the Fratton End.
Floodlight pylon at the corner of the South Stand and the Fratton End.
Floodlight pylon at the corner of the North Stand and the Fratton End.
Back of the North Stand I
Back of the North Stand II
Back of the Milton End I
Back of the Milton End II
Floodlight pylon at the corner of the Milton End and South Stand.
There's a lot of street art along the back of the Milton End and the North Stand which is well worth taking a look at. I plan to go back again and spend some more time doing so at some point, probably not on a match day. The colours and images are tremendously creative.
One criticism, I didn't see too much that was 'football related' but maybe I wasn't looking hard enough. In the past I've walked down the back of the Milton End and there have been some Pompey football images, those seem to have gone which is a shame. I've got some pictures of those which I'll dig out sometime and post here.
Go along and take a look sometime and let me know what you think.
Fratton End floodlight pylon looks out over the roof tops - this is my fav. picture of this selection!
The new position of the TV screen in the middle of the Milton End stand, it was previously tucked away in the corner and difficult to see. You can see the nice bright colour the Blackpool fans added to the day from this picture too!
@PompeyChicken at Twitter.com
