MERGE or die ? that is Sports Minister Dale Butler's blunt message to sports clubs as he seeks to help reverse their seemingly terminal decline.

He said the way forward is for venues to be shared between various clubs with housing and businesses added to sports grounds.

The Minister is working with some clubs and promises a bright future for those who change while warning others face a slow death.

Efforts to improve sports clubs have been around for decades, said Mr. Butler, including an all-club initiative in the 1980s which died out.

"In February clubs started to meet again because their memberships were declining, they have internal concerns, a lack of finance, they are concerned about youth development and leadership. All sorts of issues.

"I asked if I could come. There was a great representation of 20 people at BAA, I presented to them a list of names of possible people who could serve on this committee and the terms of reference."

He said predecessor Dennis Lister had tried to assign a team of people to work with particular clubs.

"That didn't go down too well with the clubs," he said. "I don't know why. They felt threatened and there was a lack of participation."

Mr. Butler said Randy Horton had sent out a detailed questionnaire which met with very little response. And he added as Sports Minister he faced a dilemma of where to put resources.

"Do you give the money to a club which needs a fence only to discover that there is another club that hasn't paid its land tax? There are clubs finding it difficult to pay their land tax.

"Other clubs can't get trash removed or have problems with security. Where do you start?

"We want to capture the total picture whether it's leadership, training, youth development, structural issues.

"I foresee the day when you do have brand new facilities. For example at Somerset Bridge you take down that old facility and put up a new one with a community hall for youth, weddings and sport.

"But you also have businesses. You could also build a second storey with some housing.

"You can't just pick up that idea out of a hat and go galloping down the road with that one idea only to discover the rest of the troop is standing back with their horses unattached wondering and saying they have greater needs.

"The best thing to do is get a comprehensive picture with priorities to say to the Government we anticipate over a five-year period we will need this amount of money.

"Then the Finance Minister can start to budget for that improvement. Everyone in the country will know why we are putting money in the clubs and they will see the improvements and will see them being much more effective in the community."

He said Bermuda's sports clubs have a very rich history but momentum has been lost.

"They can be commended for building many of those facilities themselves with minimum Government assistance and they had a history where they were very active," Mr. Butler said.

"But over the years people have moved away from workman's clubs to Rotary's and Lions, Kiwanis ? more middle class institutions.

"And the membership in the clubs has got older. They are not as active in putting on beauty contests, fairs and dances. There are very few younger ones coming through."

He said a number of clubs had paid off their mortgages meaning new members don't face that burden. "It's a great opportunity," he said. However a number of sports clubs don't have a home.

Mr. Butler has encouraged the Netball Association to link up with his own club, the Leopard's Club.

"I said offer them free membership the first year and in the second year they join," he said. "When you join you get life insurance, the use of the facility, meeting rooms, ping-pong tables. It has a nice lawn outside for fashion shows and teas.

"Eventually the Netball Association will end up taking it over through age alone ? they are younger. Do I think that's happening? No. Do I think it's a wonderful idea? Absolutely. At the moment the club is empty. They have meeting rooms, all the Netball Association needs for the first years is a meeting rooms and a hall for functions.

"They are not really interested in taking over the club. They want to be a part and join in the Leopard's Club activities, do joint and separate activities so it will become a lively club.

"I think Leopard's Club is interested because they realise their numbers are not growing. They are making ends meet comfortably but they realise they could do better.

at PHC which is about to undergo a major project ? gas station, community hall, etc. They can't do that by themselves. If you look at three other clubs that don't have a home, linking up and becoming part of PHC, maybe as an affiliate, it would add to the whole pie.

"The lights are up, the Government assisted them with the redevelopment of their field, and the next stage is the gas station and then their community hall, which will have a fitness centre, after-school care and offices.

"It's a very costly model but if they looked at accepting other groups, smaller groups, then membership dues would increase and they would be spreading the debt and they would have more people to assist them in fundraising and programmes.

"The days of just being PHC are over. You have to look broader."

He admitted some clubs might be reluctant to embrace outsiders.

"When you are drowning are you going to say I don't want a pink life raft?" Mr. Butler said. "Or do you take the life raft that's offered. They are all about to drown.

"Some are doing better than others ? a couple of laps around the pool ? but the vast majority are concerned about their future over the next three years.

"We can wait until we hit the crunch point and sell off another field, just like Nationals was sold, or we can stand up and say 'look brother that tidal wave is about to crash'. What do you want to do?

The deadline to get on board with the clubs committee passed on Good Friday. He said clubs coming in on time would benefit, while those joining late would benefit late.

"You better come in now," he said.

Both Somerset and St. George's cricket clubs should, at this stage in their development, resemble a proper cricket club in England with seating like Lord's, Mr. Butler said.

"Seating should have long been there. St. George's is now looking at that but again it's financing.

"They think they can just jump up and do it. You can't. It should have been started 20 years ago."

The ministry is going to offer clubs courses on fundraising including putting together business proposals.

He said the addition of a Permanent Secretary to his ministry should speed this plan.

"Some of them don't know how to write business plans," he said.

Others have proposals indicating gate money and sponsorship money will be used for plans but there are no other fund-raising efforts such as bake sales, dances or fairs, Mr. Butler said.

"There's obviously a shortage of volunteers and manpower to make it happen. The clubs are in a really, really serious situation.

"If they can jump now ? now is the best time to hold on to that life raft and work together with Government and private sector as compared to this piecemeal activity.

"There's been this resistance to work with former ministers ? the crunch hour is now." Clubs were afraid of losing their independence, Mr. Butler said.

"People are afraid of change. Clubs by now should all have their fitness centres, all have adequate seating, all have adequate changing rooms."

He said the BFA had approached his ministry about a joint venture on improving changing rooms.

"Clubs have to have a money-making plan. We are running out of land, there's no reason why clubs which have some additional space couldn't have some housing on it or a small business or two located on their property. They have to look at other means.

"They also have to look at how they run their finances. There are some clubs where rumours abound about what they do with their funds.

"They do have sufficient funds to make ends meet but the funds are not used constructively. Rumour has they have all sorts of things they use it for ? it goes in people's pockets, people get freebies, don't pay their bar tabs. I don't know what it is.

"One of the main concerns has been the reluctance to show us their books. We are not going to force anyone to show us their books.

"Obviously the committee will ask to see the books because Government needs to know what their true financial picture is.

"If they refuse that will not deter us from examining all the other issues they bring."

But such clubs would not be the first in the queue for help.

"You have to work with those who are most open with you. Those with their books in order are going to benefit the most."

said clubs wanted to appeal more to families but found it difficult to get volunteers to run events. Leadership courses are also on the cards, said Mr. Butler, to help motivate people to develop family programmes.

More than $100,000 has been set aside in the recent budget for this, with money for implementation grants which will be strictly monitored.

He said undeveloped sports fields such as Shelly Bay were bottom of the list for attention but he suggested they might offer an opportunity for development done by work release prisoners.

Somerset Cricket Club (SCC) youth football coach Mike Corday said standards at sports clubs had plummeted but he too is optimistic that things can improve.

"When you compare the way sports clubs were a couple of decades ago and today there's really no comparison," Mr. Corday said. "The standards have dropped so far. I don't pretend to know why."

His club is working to improve things and has made a good start with its football youngsters who have disciplined programme and recently enjoyed a tour to America. He believes other clubs will follow suit in improving things.

"I think there is going to be a trend," he said. "When we travel with the younger teams you notice little things that are positive. You notice faces and you think that guy should be working in that programme.

"I think Government needs to look at the running of the clubs, via the executive committees. I think there are people running the clubs that maybe can't quite handle it.

"I know the executive committee at Somerset Cricket Club is a very professionally-minded committee doing an incredible job. Maybe things go in circles."

He said SCC executive committee were working on improving the facilities.

"The field is being re-lit. We are talking about putting up a family stand."

He said that stand would likely have an alcohol ban.

"We are trying to get the community involved," Mr. Corday said. "It used to be a community club with community-based programmes."

He said too often sports clubs were inhabited with people who drank and swore with little regard for their own behaviour.

"Obviously it's a social problem. I don't know what the answer is but I think there will be a trend to improving it. I really do."