Pompey say they are leaving no stone unturned as they look into whether they should stay at Fratton Park or move to a new ground.
CEO Mark Catlin says even if they decided now to move they would need to remain at Fratton Park for five years while the new home was put in place.
He pledged that fans would be updated once the club knew what it planned to do.
In a detailed update Catlin told The News: 'We have always been clear that the masterplan was going to take at least a year to draw up, it’s a big thing to go through. Whatever you do with this stadium is very, very difficult and requires a lot of thought, a lot of work, and our owners have left no stone unturned in looking at options to move away and options to stay.
‘If a decision was made to move, I just couldn’t envisage a situation where you can go into a new stadium close to the island, there are no sites available. I could see us being here for the next five years, minimum.
‘So even if we said tomorrow we are going to X site, you are looking at five years to get through different various planning and regulations and red tape to get it going. ‘Whatever way, we have a short-to-medium term plan for five years.
'Fratton Park is a decaying old stadium, we know the problems, and regulations tighten regularly, so it becomes difficult. Those employed to look at all aspects of the stadium and various other sites are the leaders in their field, they have dealt with Premier League clubs and top clubs from in and around Europe.
‘The various architects and designers in place reinforce everything we have known for a few years now — a lot of work is required at Fratton Park. There aren’t going to be any quick, easy fixes here, never was, never will be.
‘Hopefully around August there will be an update of where the current position is. Our ownership are absolutely keen they will not go public with anything unless it is actually going to happen. They don’t want to raise expectations unrealistically into what can be achieved.
‘When we release something as a club it is because we are going to do it — and that was also the case during the last ownership.'
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