A top sports club has blown the whistle on night-time football matches after a fire cost them $50,000.

Flames ripped through an electrical room at PHC stadium early yesterday morning, damaging the ground's floodlight system.

Ten firefighters battled the 3 a.m. blaze and the official fire report gave the damage estimate after finding the flames had affected meters and electric cables.

Club president Chris Furbert said a block now had to be put on night matches until stadium lighting was back in order.

The football season is over -- but the club has now opted to stop renting out the pitch for casual night matches.

Mr. Furbert added: "I'm still waiting for the official report from the Fire Service, including an inventory of everything that was damaged. I was called out to the stadium at about quarter to four in the morning and was there for almost two hours.

"I told the firefighters that we'd had a problem with our lighting system for about a year and a half and right now we can't have any night matches down there which are sanctioned by the Bermuda Football Association.

"Any time there's rain there are sparks and that sort of thing, so for the safety of everybody concerned, we chose not to rent out the field.

"The only thing we allow is for the football team to train down there in the evenings.'' Mr. Furbert said the club were now taking different quotes for a new floodlight system for next year.

"We can take responsibility for our own players but we don't want to take on that responsibility for other people,'' he said.

"The club is now waiting for a detailed damage estimate, although we consider it to be in the region of $50,000.

"It's a fair bet to say the old system will not be repaired now. We are taking quotes for new floodlights and we want them to be in place for September 1 and the new football season.'' He said the replacement floodlight project would cost the club hundreds of thousands of dollars.

"But we've got to think about safety priorities,'' said Mr. Furbert. "It's our intention to tear down the old poles during the next month or six weeks, as well as the particular area which got damaged.''