A government plan to buy out a dilapidated sports centre is back on the table — four years after administrators pulled out of the deal.

David Burt, the Premier, made the revelation concerning the abandoned Sandys 360 project in the House of Assembly on Friday in response to questions from One Bermuda Alliance deputy leader Ben Smith.

The Sandys 360 Sports, Aquatic and Enrichment Centre opened in September 2009, but shut down in November 2013 after it was persistently mired in financial loss.

Parliament approved a plan in March 2018 for taxpayers to bail out the owners and buy the centre and surrounding land.

However, that initiative collapsed in 2021 after the Government and facility owners failed to agree on a price. An outstanding debt with construction company BC&M McAlpine was said to be the stumbling block.

In a statement in the House of Assembly in June 2021, Lieutenant-Colonel David Burch, the Minister of Public Works at the time, told MPs: “Since March 2018, the Government has worked tirelessly to advance the sale, but the trustees’ lawyers and HSBC have not been able to agree on the final dollar amount, since there was an outstanding debt with a contractor — BC&M McAlpine — that had not been satisfied.

“This outstanding matter continuously delayed the advancement of the sale and, given the current economic climate, it has been determined that it is in the best interests of the Government to rescind the purchase approval.”

On Friday, however, Mr Burt explained that negotiations have been rekindled — and implied that an agreement is now in the pipeline.

Asked by Mr Smith for an update on the negotiations, Mr Burt said: “We do know that there was a proposal previously in 2018 and money was set aside in the Budget for Sandys 360.

“There was a dispute with the trustees. There has been an attempt at re-engagement but I cannot provide an update at this time as I do not believe those matters have been finalised.

“To my knowledge, they’re not final. If they are finalised, then I’m certain that the honourable minister responsible for public lands and buildings can provide an update.”

The exchange between the two politicians became heated when Mr Smith asked questions concerning another infrastructure project that had failed to materialise — the Ottiwell Simmons Arbitration Centre.

The centre, on the site of the former Hamilton Police Station, was announced to fanfare by the Government in the 2018 Throne Speech, but the property has sat as a brownfield site since the building went before the wrecking ball in 2020.

In November 2022, Colonel Burch said: “I would be the first person to admit to disappointment the arbitration centre has not materialised.

“But the reality is, you face challenges with any project. We are still committed to it.”

Describing the site as “an eyesore”, Mr Smith asked: “Considering the numerous photo opportunities that were presented on that particular facility, can the Premier give us any update on what is going to happen on that open lot?”

Mr Burt hit back, reminding Mr Smith of the failed Morgan’s Point project that the OBA government pushed through at a cost of $165 million “without making sure that it could actually be sustained”.

The Premier added: “I will accept that there was an intention to build an arbitration centre, but what the Government said at the time, given our financial capabilities, is that we wanted to ensure that we worked with the private sector so that it could be a viable project.

“We were unable to get to that space so the question is, should we follow their example, put up a building, put a government guarantee on it and then for it not to succeed?

“There is still an opportunity for those things to develop but what we want to do is make sure it is done right. We want to make sure it is done in conjunction with the private sector.

“We’ve spoken about matters related to arbitration and so from that aspect we’re not going to follow their mistake.

“We have a record of fiscal prudence making sure that we do things right and proper, and we’re going to make sure that we get it right, unlike the mistakes that were made by the party opposite.”

Mr Smith pointed to the OBA’s public-private deal with the Canadian company Aecon to build the new airport terminal when the party was in Government, and asked why the present administration had failed to secure a similar deal with the arbitration centre.

Mr Burt replied that the airport contract had been a bad deal costing the taxpayer millions of dollars.

He said: “It is quite funny of the attempt once again to make comparisons where comparisons do not exist.”