Portsmouth Football Club (PFC) has announced that its plans for a new stadium have been put on hold due to the economic downturn and will instead extend its existing Fratton Park ground as a short-term solution.

The club has been working in partnership with developer Sellar and Portsmouth City Council (PCC) on the proposals for a new 40-45,000-seat stadium at Horsea Island near Port Solent, Hampshire. But PFC has now announced that it will look to increase the capacity of Fratton Park to 30,000 as part of the first stage of a new two-stage development strategy, which also includes a new club shop, a ticket office and club offices.

It is hoped that work will get underway at Fratton Park by the end of the year, subject to planning permission, in order for the renovation to be completed in time for the start of the 2011-12 season. The club intends to continue with plans for the new stadium as part of the second stage of development plans, and hopes that it will be completed in time to put itself forward as a potential host venue as part of the Football Association's 2018 and 2022 World Cup bid.

Gerald Vernon-Jackson, PCC leader, said: "The council has worked closely with Pompey on the Horsea Island stadium. It will continue to help the club prepare that scheme, and the club’s revised proposals for the stadium at Fratton Park. "The council has previously given planning permission for an extended stadium at Fratton Park, very similar to the proposals that the club has unveiled today. We’re disappointed that the Horsea Island scheme is taking longer to achieve than was hoped."

Plans for the new stadium, which were unveiled in August last year, have been drawn up by Swiss architects Herzog and de Meuron—designers of the Beijing National Stadium.