An ambitious project is underway to transform the Somerset Cricket Club into a multi-purpose sport and recreational facility.An artist’s impression of the planned redevelopment was drawn up by architect Kirk Johnson and was shown during Cup Match. It involves turning the sports ground into an all-seater facility capable of hosting major sporting and recreational events.The estimated cost, said club president Alfred Maybury, would be between $16 and $20 million and would be carried out in phases over several years. No start date has been set for the work to begin, but Maybury said the club management and members are keen to move ahead with the project which would transform the facility into the top sports ground on the Island.“What we’re doing right now is trying to get a better handle on all of the organisational parts that are required to do that and that means looking at all of the potential incomes so that we can make sure it is a project that, in the final analysis, pays for itself and not one that creates a burden for the membership of Somerset Cricket Club,” said Maybury who is in his first term as president after replacing Richard Scott.The idea, he conceded, came about before his tenure.“It goes way back to Colin Smith’s time, we started those discussions when Colin was president of Somerset,” Maybury recalled.“We’re working now to look at all of the opportunities that it can bring so that it presents itself as a capital-raising project and a project that will be able to sustain itself because when you look at what we are proposing to do the maintenance on that facility alone is going to be fairly expensive.“So we’re ensuring that whatever we do is something that has the ability to pay for itself. It will have seating all the way around and a viewing area that is like a balcony in one section and executive-type viewing as well. In the four corners of it there are towers that are executive type with viewing ability.”The capacity would match that of the ground during Cup Match when scaffolding is erected to increase capacity. The cost to erect scaffolding this year worked out to be just over $230,000, Maybury disclosed. In the long run the club intends to have the redevelopment pay for itself with the hosting of several events.“We will be looking at different organisations, both local and overseas, who would be interested in providing some financing so that we can make it a reality,” said Maybury. “It will be for something like Cup Match but we’re not banking on Cup Match, we’re looking to expand the use of the grounds at Somerset so that we can have much more activity there.“It is not just going to be just for football and cricket. We’re looking to expand into other sporting events and even concerts. The way it is being proposed to be built, we can have the music festival again and have it at Somerset. The design is going to support that sort of activity.”The nearby Sandys 360 facility has provided many activities for those in the Somerset community and Maybury sees a redeveloped Somerset Cricket Club as something the community will enjoy as well. He believes the recent victory in Cup Match is just the impetus needed to get the project moving.“The whole thing is to complement Sandys 360 because that is going to be looked at as a part of the whole project,” Maybury said.“We believe that Somerset as a community and Bermuda as a whole can thrive if we utilise those two facilities together. The whole idea is to enhance what Sandys 360 has started and go a step further. We’ve had a lot of discussions with Dr (Melvin) Bassett (managing director of Sandys 360) and Sandys 360 before they even broke ground for the Sandys 360 building and how the Somerset Cricket Club and the Sandys 360 organisation can work together and galvanise the community. Our boundaries border each and we have been working together for a good while now.”Maybury said the work would be carried out in phases over a six to eight year period, but assured that it would not disrupt the club’s hosting of Cup Match every two years.“What we have done is show the membership of Somerset what the vision is and we want to show Bermuda what the vision is so that they know what we are working towards,” said the president.“We wanted to get clear of Cup Match this year and take care of some of the expenses of Cup Match 2010 so that once we start this project we are starting with a clean slate, that we are not dragging any old business into it. We are doing some organisational changes so that we are really prepared to deal with this task.”He added: “We already intend in doing it in phases so we are looking at about four phases that will take a six to eight year period. Our goal is to complete a phase and have that phase properly financed so that it is taking care of itself and we’re not leaving generations with huge debts. The facility will be able to have concessions in there that are not just being run during a game. We want to have the ability to host conferences.“Right now you just see a picture but behind that picture is a huge concept. We have not put a capacity on it yet but it will be a lot larger than we currently have, even with the scaffolding. Winning Cup Match this year gave a great boost to the morale of membership and the community and all of that plays a great part in the success of this project. Each phase will have a start and end date to ensure that it is finished before it is time to host Cup Match.”