Portsmouth have announced plans for a new 36,000-seat waterside stadium.
The club have played at Fratton Park since 1899 but their 20,000 capacity is deemed insufficient for a club looking to consolidate their place in the Premiership.
Providing planning consent is obtained the club hope to be playing at their new home on reclaimed dock land overlooking at the start of the 2011-12 season.
“This will be an iconic stadium and not just great for Portsmouth Football Club but also the city,” the club’s chief executive Peter Storrie told reporters.
“It will have a real wow factor and if we want to become one of the big boys of English football we know that we have to move into a modern new stadium.
“Portsmouth is moving into a new dawn with the backing of owner Alexandre Gaydamak and these are very exciting times for the club both on and off the field.”
“It will be an iconic venue for the whole city, not just the football club,” said Storrie.
“Because of the closeness of the waterfront we would be able to bring people in by ferry which would be a unique way to travel to football matches.”
The new stadium alongside will include one million square feet of residential units, restaurants and leisure facilities and the complete bill for the whole development will be `£600m.
It will be jointly funded by the sale of the club’s 17-acre Fratton Park site for housing and the Sellar Property Group.
The stadium has been designed by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron, who were responsible for the Allianz Arena in Munich and the Olympic Stadium in Beijing.
Manager Harry Redknapp said: “You need good facilities for people, you don’t want to be stood in the pouring rain with your kids.
“If you are going to become a big club or going to maintain your status as a Premier League club you need a stadium that holds more than 20,000 people otherwise you are just relying on a sugar daddy pumping money in, and nobody’s going to keep doing that unless there’s some return.”
