The backdrop to more than 40 years of football history was swept away this week as the old Pembroke Hamilton Club building in Warwick was knocked down to make way for a new petrol station.

?This is the end of an era, but it is the beginning of a new era,? PHC president Chris Furbert said. A new clubhouse will be erected next to the PHC field which is intended to create a more community-based atmosphere where families can spend time.

The new 60,000 square-foot clubhouse will be three-storeys high with a bar on the top floor.

?We will have a 6,000 square foot health club for members to use,? said Mr. Furbert. Members of the public will also be able to use the health club for a fee, he said. ?We will also have an area that can seat 1,575 people. They can watch other indoor sports like soccer and basketball.?

While PHC club has only been using the Stadium Lane, Warwick, building as a clubhouse since the late 1970s, the building was probably more than 70 years old, Mr. Furbert said. But PHC had purchased the field before the building, he added, and the whole area has been known as PHC field for over 40 years.

?We purchased the property between 1955 to 1960,? he said. ?But we didn?t move up there right away. But we were playing football on the field.?

In the early 1960s, Mr. Furbert even played football on the field for the junior team.

Despite the long history of the club with the building, PHC?s members decided it was in the club?s best interest to move forward without it.

?Club life is not the same as it was five to ten years ago,? Mr. Furbert said. ?The move was good business. We are venturing forward. The new building will be moved so it is adjacent to the field.?

He said that the necessary finances for the new clubhouse were currently being planned out but it is hoped the project will be completed in the next 15 to 18 months. ?We are waiting for the bank to confirm the funds,? Mr. Furbert said. ?Once that is prepared we are going to move full speed ahead.?

The club has been closed since June 2003 in order to prepare for the changes.