The opening date for PHC's revamped stadium is moving ever closer, the club's president says.

Chris Furbert announced in March of last year that the club were planning a $4-million multi-dimensional complex at their Middle Road-Stadium Lane base in Warwick.

It was said the project, which had been in the pipeline for the past decade, would see the construction of a modern clubhouse with a gymnasium, health club, changing rooms, boardroom, recreation room, a library and computer area and a members' bar.

The facility, said to feature terraced, covered seating for 450 people, would overlook a full-size cricket ground which would double as a soccer field, with the option of being utilised for other sports. In total, the project would encompass 40,000 square feet.

"You won't see it this season, I can tell you that," said Furbert this week in response to questions about when the First Division soccer club's home games would be truly played at home. "We will probably see it in September, 2004, if all goes well with the new project. We are still waiting for final approval from the planning department to start the building of our new club.

"If we can get final approval sometime between now and the end of the year, then by the end of next year we should have at least 90 percent of the clubhouse finished."

Furbert went on to say, ideally, he would like to see the ground opened when everything was 100 percent finished, suggesting his earlier date of September may turn out to be a little later.

"What I would like to see, and this is only my opinion as the president of the club, is if the building is almost finished I would like to open them both (pitch and premises) at the same time," he said.

"If the club facility is going to be ready a month or two after September then I would prefer to delay the opening of the field until we get both. I think that makes better sense."

The opening of the field would be roundly welcomed by Bermuda Football Association who are struggling to find grounds able to stage evening matches.

"PHC's field has been a big miss to the BFA," said Furbert, who is also the BFA's First Vice President. "With PHC we had five fields. With PHC gone there are only four. With Somerset having light problems and other clubs having problems we don't have any night fields."

The ground was closed to matches around six years ago, with PHC playing their `home' matches at Southampton Rangers initially before moving to Somerset. This season the team are back at Southampton.

Though agreeing that having their own ground would be a major plus, Furbert said, last season apart, it had not hindered the club too much.

"I would not say the fortunes will change for the better," he said. "Remember now, PHC actually came out of the Second Division and won the First Division for the first time in the history of this country without a field.

"But of course it will be nice for the guys to go into their own changing room and have their own home games at their club. That's what all players look forward to."