PHC Stadium could soon be reopened for Premier Division games, although a specific date has yet to be confirmed.

After a number of failed attempts to bring top-flight football back to the ground in the past decade, news began circulating a few months ago that the club was planning to stage games there for the second half of the season.

Junior and Masters matches, as well as cricket, are played at the venue but Premier Division football has not been played there since the end of the 1997-98 season.

That was the campaign that Vasco, who were using PHC Stadium for their home matches, won the Triple Crown.

The plan was originally to reopen the ground a year after it closed to allow repairs to the lights and other work to be carried out — and to coincide with the return of PHC to the top division after promotion.

But that never materialised as target dates came and went. Even the clubhouse, which was the heart of the Warwick community, was demolished in 2004 to make way for the gas station. Johnny Ball, who replaced Chris Furbert as president last November, admits the goal is still to return to PHC Stadium in the near future.

“We’re making progress and the intent is to return to Stadium Lane,” Ball said. “A date hasn’t been confirmed. We’ve made progress in terms of fencing that is going up as we speak.

“It is one of the main things that has prevented us from playing there, but we’ve made a good amount of progress thanks to the Bank of Bermuda Foundation that has supported us financially, Government have supported us as well as our club sponsors Bermuda Healthcare Services and Ultimate Imaging. Recently we got a grant from Government for $24,000 from proceeds of crime, so that was definitely appreciated.

“The main initiative right now is our ‘Going Home Project’ and we’re just raising funds and raising awareness so we can return to Stadium Lane, which obviously will be a win for PHC and for the community.”

After the ground closed, PHC initially used Somerset Cricket Club for home matches before switching to Southampton Oval, which remains their venue for home games.

Ball, 29, recalls the days of going down to PHC Stadium to watch matches as a youngster in the 1990s.

“I used to live on Cobbs Hill and used to ride my pedal bike to PHC and watch games on Sunday, those are my memories of games being played there,” he said. “I played there as a junior but not at senior level.

“Everyone in the community wants to open up Stadium Lane again, that’s something that has been a focus of mine and fortunately we’ve been able to make progress thanks to the assistance of Government, the private sector and the community at large.

“We touch the community, not just through football but various programmes, and the stronger we are as a club the better we will be able to assist the community.”