http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e1/Portsmouth_FC_crest_2008.png/200px-Portsmouth_FC_crest_2008.png
Portsmouth FC

2x Champion:
1949, 1950

2x Cup Winner:
1939, 2008


New Project
http://www.bdonline.co.uk/Pictures/web/r/r/h/HDEM_329_0805_03_STADIUM_INTERIOR.jpg

http://www.bdonline.co.uk/Pictures/web/o/n/b/Pomey2.jpg

http://www.bdonline.co.uk/Pictures/web/y/q/l/HDEM_329_0805_01_MASTERPLAN_AERIAL.jpg

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj130/regabc123/untitled-2.jpg

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj130/regabc123/portsmouth_stadium3.jpg

http://www.building.co.uk/Pictures/web/c/l/k/portsmouth_fc_de_meuron_4.jpg





old project
http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i194/pompeytheriddle/pfc01.jpg

36000 capacity - lots of apartments. Official statement 12:30 GMT Wednesday.

Thoughts?

loosk bigger and very high

The full story here...

http://www.pompeyfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewStadiumDetail/0,,10396~1016037,00.html

An extra 4000 seats and it'd be perfect as a World Cup venue. It doesn't look that extendable though.

Now It does'nt which seems a bit daft but Portsmouth dont have a large fan base to support a significant stadium of 40,000+.

The design to be looks fantastic though, absolutely top draw.

Portsmouth unveils plans for new stadium
Posted: Wednesday Apr 25, 2007 9:19 AM

PORTSMOUTH, England (AP) -Portsmouth presented plans Wednesday for a new 36,000-seat stadium to be built by 2011.

The Premier League club said the stadium would be part of a 600 million pound (US$1.2 billion; ?881 million) redevelopment of the city's old naval dockyards. It will be built on 13 acres (5.3 hectares) of reclaimed waterfront and will also include apartments and a shopping complex.



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Portsmouth has played at Fratton Park since 1899. The venue seats 20,300, but it will be turned into 750 homes under new plans.

Planning applications for both ventures will be submitted later this year, and the club hopes to start work in mid-2008 and play in the new stadium by 2011.

"This will be the most spectacular stadium, set against the backdrop of the harbor and the English Channel benefiting the club's history,'' Portsmouth chief executive Peter Storrie said. "Portsmouth Football Club 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.''

Gaydamak, a Russian businessman, took over the club earlier this year.

The proposed stadium's bowl-style was designed by Swiss-based architectural firm Herzog and De Meuron, which was responsible for the Beijing Olympic stadium and Bayern Munich's Allianz Stadium.

Can I just also add, the setting is unbeatable. Its like a mediveal castle in modern day architecture with a moat surrounding the stadium and having views of the water way.

Fantastic.

Small image from Gosport

http://editorial.jpress.co.uk/web/Upload/PPP//TH1_254200727stadiumfromgos.jpg

Exterior looks kind of cool, but I agree it doesn't fit in to portsmouth, or fit Pompey at all. They are my favorite premiership side; I love the work ethic, player developement and fan support, and the fact that they don't try to buy championships. This seems like it would be Chelsea proposal not a Portsmouth one, being mostly glitz, and not much substance. I think that a 40,000 seater, with a 10,000 seat steep pitched supporters stand would make more sense, but I guess if they are letting Herzog & De Meuron redevelope the whole neighborhood I suppose it will be a pretty cool place, if very un-Pompey.

People moan about identikit stadiums and when something brilliant and truly unique is proposed you say it doesn't fit the ethic of the club.

These architects can't win!

as a Southampton fan I suggest pushing this off to sea... joking aside... looks great.

Pics on here: http://www.pompeyfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewStadiumDetail/0,,10396~1016037,00.html look really good.

Any of you techy enough to be able to post the pics? The seem to have some clever way of stopping people see the image source.

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i194/pompeytheriddle/pfc01.jpg

36000 capacity - lots of apartments. Official statement 12:30 GMT Wednesday.

Thoughts?

It looks a bit bizarre - I'd prefer to see a real blueprint before giving an informed opinion...

"People moan about identikit stadiums and when something brilliant and truly unique is proposed you say it doesn't fit the ethic of the club.

These architects can't win!"

Of course every design has its detractors as well is its admirers. On this board there is a strong love/hate for anything unique, like what is done by Calatrava, Piano or Herzog & De Meuron or anyone else. Personally I love alot of stuff (not specifically but including stadiums) by Cesar Pelli, Renzo Piano, and Albert Constantin. personally I by and large find Herzog & De Meuron's designs to be akward and boring, but thats just me. They win alot of awards, Some of my professors absolutely love thier work, but I don't and thats the beauty of architecture, just like any other art form its very subjective. I am also of the opinion that buildings, should to some degree reflect the people that will be using that structure, this to my knowledge does not reflect the club or the community at all. I am from Minneapolis so I don't know the community in Portsmouth feels, but their addition to the Walker Art Center has earned them a lot of critics in the Twin Cities; Its kind of cool, but really chunky, akward and in very close proximity to to gorgous neogothic churches and the stunning Beaux Arts Basilica of St. Mary, which maks it look REALLY out of place. And the Pompey proposal seems Akward and out of place to me at any rate.

Looks more like a dream vision to be honest. It's all going to end in disappointment I believe, unfortunately it is just too ambitious.

For two years they will proberly try and get permission and the funding needed only for it to fall through and Pompey will end up back at stage one once again, with a dump of a ground and no new one on the horizon.

you cant use Calatrava as unique, not any more, everything he does looks the same

Calatrava does kind of do everything in the same overall style, white skeletal structure, often with alot of glass. He is more of an engineer than an architect, alot of his work (especially bridges) are very impressive from a structural engineering standpoint. Here in the midwest there is the Milwaukee Art Museum, thats it, but on the whole you can certainly call him redundant. I do like alot of his stuff though. The Milwaukee art museum is an absolutely wonderfull place to spend an afternoon by the way.

more images here

http://www.pompeyfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewStadiumDetail/0,,10396~1016026,00.html


SHOCKINGLY ugly IMO.

bold, i'll give them that, but i'm surprised at just how bad the design is

for 600 million quid you would expect it to be coverd in gold and diamonds or something, the price is just ridiculous. i guess that's just modern britain. but when you take a look at the stadiums being built elsewhere - particularly in spain - for peanuts, it's just mind boggling

Err that includes the 1500 apartments being built aswell.

Love the way the stadium is built within the residential block. Love a flat on the 22nd floor overlooking the match. If CARLSBERG did football stadiums ........

Err that includes the 1500 apartments being built aswell.

Love the way the stadium is built within the residential block. Love a flat on the 22nd floor overlooking the match. If CARLSBERG did football stadiums ........

Looking at the various images, it looks like the views 'inwards' from the apartments surrounding the stadium will be extremely limited (you might be able to see the roof, and perhaps a sliver of the far side of the pitch).

The 600m also includes the costs of building the new dock for HMS Warrior.

Anyone know how much real estate is selling for in Portsmouth? Because a portion of that 600m will obviously be off-set by the sale of 175 homes on the Fratton Park site, and the 1750 appartments around the new ground.

Also, wondering whether the decision to announce it at 36k, privately funded, is aimed at getting the Portsmouth council/FA/UK government to stump up the cash for an extra 4 or 5k seats in order to secure Pompey as a suitable venue for the World Cup. It would be great for the city to be involved, and strikes me that the club would be wise to take advantage of a desperate FA/government by doing this.

Looks strange, but in a cool way! They definitely need a new stadium whatever happens with this vision, Fratton Park is looking a bit tired.

Looks strange, but in a cool way! They definitely need a new stadium whatever happens with this vision, Fratton Park is looking a bit tired.

Even as a member of the Fratton Faithful and a Pompey maniac, i have to admit, it's a little delapidated (for those who don't understand, it means old, tired)

Anyway, don't expect it to be built. If Portsmouth built every stadium that was proposed, there would be nothing but stadia in Portsmouth.

Exterior looks kind of cool, but I agree it doesn't fit in to portsmouth, or fit Pompey at all. They are my favorite premiership side; I love the work ethic, player developement and fan support, and the fact that they don't try to buy championships. This seems like it would be Chelsea proposal not a Portsmouth one, being mostly glitz, and not much substance. I think that a 40,000 seater, with a 10,000 seat steep pitched supporters stand would make more sense, but I guess if they are letting Herzog & De Meuron redevelope the whole neighborhood I suppose it will be a pretty cool place, if very un-Pompey.

Now where do you get that? Portsmouth is a harbourside town and the hub of England's navy for centuries. Is it not fitting that it is built on the seaside. The stadium is also being built near Spinnaker Tower, Portsmouth's landmark to embrace the 21st century. Portsmouth FC is moving into the future. Pompey have always been an extravagant club who stand out and are unique. Don't believe me, take a look at Portsmouths' transfers in the last 36 months. Names such as Benjani, who struggled to kick a ball 24 months ago, and Mendes, a wild child, would never have been bought by a club like :cough: Southampton :cough:, would they?

they'll never build it:nuts: too ambitous...

As long as you can hear the cow bell! Brilliant design, these guys are great, same guys that did Allianz and the 08 Olympic stadium.

Why do some of you believe it will never get built? It seems quite alot of you have very few ideas when it comes to projects like this.

Its been publicly released with official renders and statement figures for funding. Its due to go in for planning within the next few months. Portsmouth can sustain this development.

Those of you who think this is a pipedream need to wake up to reality. The original stadium concept which was scrapped (which is the only one of significance that has ever been proposed) was unfit for Portsmouth football club not to mention it was Milan Mandarics stadium plan. His no longer the owner.

As a Wolves fan I can only be impressed by this. Its a dead cert. And deserving of Portsmouth.

It's the outrageously over the top ambitiousness of the project that makes me think it WILL happen. 1750 apartments plus a football stadium built on a site which is currently under water.... It's so impossibly over the top that it must happen.

I still think it will end up at 40k though - it would be stupid to not add those extra seats with a world cup bid likely in 2018 and the South Coast being short of a venue. It must cost less to add 4000 seats to a new construction than to extend a 'completed' stadium by the same amount - and surely Portsmouth would love to put one over Southampton by getting the South Coast venue to themselves..?

...although St. Mary's is very expandable, as it was designed to be.

Posted by embe in UK forums:

NEW STADIUM PLANS UNVEILED

Pompey have unveiled the plans for a spectacular new £600million waterfront football stadium and residential development on reclaimed land in the city's dockyard and at Fratton Park.

The new stadium is being designed by leading international architects, Herzog and De Meuron. The Swiss-based firm is responsible for both the Beijing National Stadium, which will be the centrepiece of the 2008 Olympic Games, and the Allianz Stadium in Munich.

The stadium is planned to be constructed on a site adjacent to the historic Naval Dockyards, the Gunwharf Quays retail and leisure centre, Portsmouth Harbour Station and ferry terminus and the Hard interchange bus station. It will comprise of approximately 13 acres of land reclaimed from the existing waterfront.

The joint venture between Pompey and Sellar Property Group will create a superb 36,000 all-seater stadium, over 1 million square feet of waterfront apartments, a 1.5 acre new public space together with a mixture of complementary leisure uses, restaurants and cafes.

Stadium

Pompey and Sellar have also announced proposals for the redevelopment of the Club's historic 17-acre Fratton Park site, where Pompey have been playing football since 1899. It is anticipated that planning consent for the Fratton Park redevelopment will be secured at the same time as permission is granted for the waterfront development.

A phased development of Fratton Park will create a low to medium-rise scheme in keeping with its environment. The current plans are for approximately 750 homes comprising a mixture of houses, flats and affordable housing units. Part of the site, including the current car park and adjacent land, could be developed while the team continue to play at Fratton Park.

The club and Sellar are forming a joint venture company in which both Fratton Park and the new waterfront development will be held, enabling appropriate development finance to be secured to complete the overall project. It is expected that creation of the residential and commercial elements of both schemes will contribute to the development. It will also generate several thousand jobs during the construction period and many hundreds of permanent jobs post completion.

Planning applications for the proposed development will be submitted in the autumn, following consultation with stakeholders. Subject to receipt of the necessary consents, reclamation work could get underway by Summer 2008, and construction of the new stadium the following year. It is anticipated that Pompey will be playing in the new stadium by 2011.

Peter Storrie, Pompey's Chief Executive, said: "This will be the most spectacular stadium, set against the backdrop of the harbour and the English Channel befitting the club's history. The club will be playing a big part in the regeneration of the city and our fans will have the very best in terms of facilities and amenities as well as an excellent viewing experience.

"Portsmouth Football Club 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. The new stadium, along with plans for the club's new training ground at Titchfield, is proof of where we want Pompey to be - playing at the highest level and in a stadium that is reflective of a top Premiership side."

The proposed scheme is in the great tradition of English football stadia that have historically formed an integral part of their communities and social urban fabric and the location of the new stadium remains within the city of Portsmouth where more than three-quarters of the club's fan base lives.

The development's sustainability and green credentials are also underlined by the stadium's location which will ensure a majority of supporters arrive by public transport. Apart from parking for club officials, players and VIPs, there will be no public parking as part of the scheme.

Supporters will be encouraged to use local bus, train and ferry services to the stadium and, as part of the proposals, it is intended to create a new covered bus terminus, the roof of which will form the substantial new public space to the front of the stadium. In addition there will be plans to create suitable "park and ride" centres enabling fans to have easy access to the stadium.

The residential element of the waterfront development, comprising approximately 1,500 apartments, will wrap around the eastern, southern and western sides of the stadium. On the southwest waterfront side the development will rise to 22 storeys reducing to 11 storeys in the northeast corner as it adjusts in scale to take into account the city and the historic dockyards. The sweeping bowl shape of the scheme will, together with the Spinnaker Tower, change the city skyline and continue the regeneration of this part of Portsmouth.

While the scheme aims to reclaim approximately 13 acres from the present harbour, water will continue to play a prominent role as it is intended to replace the small boat moorings facility on the landward side of the development and enhance the wider public realm by including the beach. It is also planned to create a new dock area to the north of the site enabling HMS Warrior to be re-sited but equally accessible to the public.

Pictures:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m6/markbewsey/pompey3.jpg

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m6/markbewsey/pompey2.jpg

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m6/markbewsey/pompey1.jpg

Incase anyone is wondering, the tower next to is is the 165m Spinnaker tower, and is already completed :)

it's a little delapidated (for those who don't understand, it means old, tired)

What, like dilapidated, you mean? :D

it has to be a 40,000 surely. cant wait to see some interior pics.

it has to be a 40,000 surely. cant wait to see some interior pics.

Well if you genuinly cant wait, here's one:
http://www.pompeyfc.premiumtv.co.uk/javaImages/e5/a1/0,,10396~3187173,00.jpg

Construction News have confirmed that some apartments will have clear views of the staidium's pitch. Lucky portsmouth fans. :nuts:

^^
That would be awesome having an apartment overlooking the pitch!! I bet they'll be worth a fortune. Just a question, would Pompey be able to fill a 36-40k seat stadium week in, week out?

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/rfataar/1a-5.jpg
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/rfataar/8-5.jpg
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/rfataar/10a.jpg
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/rfataar/4a-5.jpg
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/rfataar/2a-4.jpg

Well if you genuinly cant wait, here's one:
http://www.pompeyfc.premiumtv.co.uk/javaImages/e5/a1/0,,10396~3187173,00.jpg

Cheers dude:okay:

No roof. Not a good idea giving our climate.

Why do some of you believe it will never get built? It seems quite alot of you have very few ideas when it comes to projects like this.

Its been publicly released with official renders and statement figures for funding. Its due to go in for planning within the next few months. Portsmouth can sustain this development.

Those of you who think this is a pipedream need to wake up to reality. The original stadium concept which was scrapped (which is the only one of significance that has ever been proposed) was unfit for Portsmouth football club not to mention it was Milan Mandarics stadium plan. His no longer the owner.

As a Wolves fan I can only be impressed by this. Its a dead cert. And deserving of Portsmouth.

Buddy, i don't think you're familiar with Portsmouth's stadium plans. They have tried NUMEROUS times to have a stadium built, and it never got past the planning stage.

What, like dilapidated, you mean? :D

Probably

Anyway, this was on an email i got from the Fratton Faithful mailing list

Realistic dream or false hope?

You've probably all seen the pictures by now and all formed your own opinions on Pompey's plans for the future. The first thought that came to my head when I saw them was "wow!" and that it looked like something you'd find in Dubai and not Gunwharf.

Article continues below



The project does seem very ambitious and I commend Portsmouth FC for coming up with something so characteristic and innovative (though I'm sure some of you will disagree). There are some issues that I'm not quite sure about though.

Planning Permission

You can guarantee that this will be a major thorn in the side just like it has been in our previous proposals and it looks extremely likely that the latest vision will be met with a public inquiry, and for those residents who don't support Portsmouth FC then that could be a problem as there's already noises coming from them saying that they won't allow it to happen and that the suggestions are ridiculous. The environmentalists have also raised questions about what the new proposal would do to the eco-system.

I can see trouble ahead regarding this issue...

Transport

Access around Gunwharf can be a nightmare as it is, so could you imagine 36,000 fans trying to get out at the same time? It's a good thing that they plan to build apartments attached to the stadium because I can see people buying them just to avoid painful journeys home! Fans coming from places further from Fratton with no rail links aren't going to like the extra driving but the club hope to have a park and ride scheme in place by then. Whether that can be implemented at an affordable price remains to be seen but I have my doubts. It'll also mean more expensive rail fares for many fans and those living in Gosport will more than likely have to ferry across.

The Economy

With the new stadium needing more staff, security etc the proposal will create many more jobs and provide many more homes on top of the new housing scheme to be developed after Fratton Park is bulldozed. How much revenue would the likes of The Good Companion and The Brewers Arms lose once Fratton Park is gone though and are there enough pubs around Gunwharf to potentially accomadate 36,000 fans?

Stadium Capacity

Could we sell out a 36,000 seater stadium on a regular basis? Obviously you'd expect the stadium to be full for when the big guns visit but there could be a real prospect that in the 2011/2012 season we could be playing Doncaster Rovers in a Premiership fixture. With all due respect to Donny, could you see 36,000 people attending that game with the current price of football and the fact we only have a core fanbase of around 15,000 people? I'm not sure we could and the last thing I'd want to see is a regularly empty stadium.

Funding

£600 million is a huge figure for this renovation and it makes you wonder where we're going to get the money from. Obviously revenue from the new Premiership deal is going to play a part but what if the worst happens and we get relegated? That could spell financial disaster. There's talk about a sponsorship deal but it would have to be a pretty huge one to make a significant impact on funding the stadium and if that did happen, you can guarantee that the new stadium will be named after the sponsor (as much as I like some of the names suggested on the messageboard.)

In the grand scheme of things, the cynic inside me believes these proposals too good to be true. There's so much to cover and I've only skimmed the surface with the questions I've asked. If it does get built I can't see it looking anything like the original vision either.

No doubt there'll be countless stories on this subject in the coming five years, let's just hope that after all this time we finally get what we've been longing for.

Rexfan - what are real estate prices like in Pompey at the moment?

How much would a two bedroom flat by the river cost?

Looks more like a dream vision to be honest. It's all going to end in disappointment I believe, unfortunately it is just too ambitious.

For two years they will proberly try and get permission and the funding needed only for it to fall through and Pompey will end up back at stage one once again, with a dump of a ground and no new one on the horizon.

Its complex so a lot of things can go wrong with planning permission etc. but other than that I cant see why its too ambitious.

The stadium itself does not seem extreme in any way and as for all the apartments, well I am sure they will have partners handling that and who can really say whether that will work.

As for funding, well the already extremly rich premiership will almost double their media income next year and most likely that will continue to rise. The overseas deal alone continues to double every 3 years.

I think many premiership clubs are under-valued. Perhaps foreign owners are coming in because the british just cant see that...

Rexfan - what are real estate prices like in Pompey at the moment?

How much would a two bedroom flat by the river cost?

About as much as Sydney i guess.

About as much as Sydney i guess.

Actually it would probably cost more(much more in fact)

^^ Probably, i'd spend more than $1million on a harbourside flat with views of Spinnaker Tower and the pitch at the new stadium, wouldn't you?

any word on the name yet? I reckon they'd have no difficulty selling the naming rights to this!

^^^ Probably, i'd spend more than $1million on a harbourside flat with views of Spinnaker Tower and the pitch at the new stadium, wouldn't you?

I wouldn't pay anything to live right next door to a soccer stadium! Imagine trying to get home after a long day at work just as everybody's turning up for a big match or just leaving one...

^^ Doesn't bother me.

Rexfan. Portsmouths other stadium proposals were nothing but that. Proposals. One idea led to another. Aspirations, cheap mock up's. You name it the club did it. This however has gone through a vigerous design process, funding seems to have been found, they seem to have met most of the council's aims (affordable housing etc) and is already sitting at the council's planning committee seeking OPP. They likelyhood is as with every project, aspects will change but at this point in time with an official press launch, associate meetings etc, this is full steam ahead.

^^ What i'm getting at is this still will not make it. Pompey have tried and tried with more efficient designs than this and been turned back time and time again. This is at least the third design in four years. What will make this different?

if this is going to be build, it is officialy the most ugly stadium in the world... damn...

Still, it would be the best stadium on the South Coast!

nice pompey, Im sure it gave Harry a smile.

when start the construction?

construction is halted until Portsmouth can finalise the finances for the stadium. ASDA have bought the site Fratton Park stands on and a couple of supermarkets are lining up for surrounding the new stadium site on Horsea Island.

Soccer-UAE billionaire begins Portsmouth due diligence

ABU DHABI, June 3 (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi billionaire Sulaiman al-Fahim and a group of other investors are aiming to complete a deal to buy Premier League club Portsmouth by the summer having begun due diligence, Fahim said on Wednesday.

Fahim, a board member of the Abu Dhabi United Group for Development and Investment that bought Manchester City last year, told Reuters he would be travelling to England on Wednesday to conclude negotiations.

"We are doing the due diligence now and expect to complete the deal before the summer," he said. The new owners could be in place by the start of the new season on Aug. 15.

Portsmouth, who won the FA Cup in 2008, finished this season in 14th place, four places above the relegation zone.

The south-coast club's French-born owner Alexandre Gaydamak has been looking for a buyer since December.

The deal was being done with specialist international private equity and asset management firm Falcon Group, who will also invest, said Fahim, who would become the club's chairman.

Fahim declined to give a value for the deal, but said the price had been attractive because Portsmouth did not have huge debts like other clubs.

Portsmouth made losses of 16.66 million pounds ($24.86) for the 2007-08 financial year despite winning the FA Cup for the first time in 69 years -- their first major trophy since they won the league title in 1950.

But the club said when announcing its results in April that their deficit was nearly 7.0 million less than the previous year and was optimistic the loss will be reduced again next year.

NEW STADIUM

Immediate plans for a new stadium had already been shelved and instead Portsmouth previously said it would redevelop Fratton Park, their home since they were formed in 1898, by the 2011-12 season when it should hold an extra 10,000 fans.

Regarding stadium development Fahim added: "We plan to enlarge the stadium from 20,000 to 30,000 capacity and in the next phase we want to build a new stadium with 40,000 capacity".

The prospective owner has said he would focus on stabilising the club's current squad. Fahim will look to strengthen the team with talented English players and hoped to bring one of the UAEs' best players to the English south coast.

Fahim added that the group had drawn up a shortlist of managers and would be looking at them soon. He declined to identify prospective candidates but said Sven-Goran Eriksson, sacked as Mexico coach in April, was not on the list.

The current Portsmouth manager Paul Hart took over from Tony Adams midway though last season.

Soccer, viewed as a high profile and glamorous industry, is being targeted for investment by Gulf Arab firms as Western investors tighten their belts in the global economic slowdown.

England's top flight, underwritten by domestic and global TV deals worth over a billion pounds ($1.78 billion), has become Europe's dominant league in the last decade with many of the world's best players earning huge salaries at the major clubs.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is the world's third-largest oil exporter and the capital Abu Dhabi controls 90 percent of the country's oil reserves.

Flush with petrodollars from soaring oil prices, Abu Dhabi has been investing abroad to diversify its economy.

Seriously, England has really awesome stadiums, yet they have been reconstructed quite a while ago. They should start reconstructing their stadiums into a 2010 stadium, rather than like a 2000 stadium.

Hah, can't see this one ever happening with Pompey being all over the news the last few months.

Your second post on this site sees you dig up this old thread and then contribute that gem?!!