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PHC rejected bank’s advice on sports complex plan

(Photo by Mark Tatem)PHC field in Warwick. PHC was advised by HSBC and Government to aim for a less elaborate plan for a proposed sports complex.

Pembroke Hamilton Club’s multidimensional complex in Warwick might have been completed on schedule had the club taken advice from the bank.The multi-million dollar project is already years behind schedule with PHC unable to secure funding to bring the ambitious development plan to fruition.According to a Government source, PHC repeatedly declined requests to downsize the project and accept the money HSBC was offering during negotiations to secure a loan to finance the project.Club documents reveal that PHC were seeking to borrow between $10 million and $11 million from HSBC who were only willing to lend $8.5 million.The Government source claimed that the bank felt that the planned structure was “too large” and needed to be downsized while the money PHC was seeking to borrow was “too much”.The source added that Government, who approved a 20-year lease agreement in 2008 between the Ministry of Education and PHC, also felt the project was “too elaborate” and urged the club to accept the money the bank was offering.The lease agreement between the Ministry of Education and PHC was never made public until The Royal Gazette broke the story last Thursday.A day later the Ministry confirmed via a press release what this newspaper had reported but not before coming under fire from Shadow Education Minister Grant Gibbons.Dr Gibbons accused Government of not being transparent and demanded they give a “full explanation” for the multimillion lease agreement it signed with PHC.Meanwhile Bermuda Union of Teachers general secretary Mike Charles believes that the money the Ministry of Education will pay PHC in usage fees for schools in the zone to use the club’s multidimensional complex once it’s completed could be better spent elsewhere.PHC president Chris Furbert estimates that the lease agreement his club has with the Ministry of Education will reap as much as $10 million over a 20-year period.Mr Furbert has not returned calls to The Royal Gazette in nearly a week. Elvin James, who was Education Minister at the time the lease agreement was signed, has declined to comment.PHC embarked on a three-phase development plan to upgrade its sporting complex at Stadium Lane, Warwick in 2000.The first phase entailed resurfacing the playing surface and installation of a new lighting system which was to be paid for by the $1.2 million PHC was loaned from the Bermuda Industrial Union in 2001.The loan was to be paid back over a 17-year period through rental income from PHC’s two-storey building located at 81 Reid Street, Hamilton.More than a decade later PHC has yet to pay principal on the loan.The second phase of the development plan, which is already years behind schedule, involves the construction of a multipurpose facility that will seat as many as 2,500 people and include a health club and a youth club.To date PHC have yet to secure funding for this phase of the project.The third and final phase entails the construction of additional changing rooms and seating on the eastern side of PHC’s Warwick ground.After the BIU made the $1.2 million loan to PHC, the club successfully negotiated a 20-year lease agreement for $1 million with Esso for 20,000sq ft of land at their Warwick ground.Esso subsequently leased an additional 2,000sq ft of land for $125,000 to bring the total amount of the lease to $1,125,000.Monies for leasing the gas station property have been fully paid to PHC.In recent years the iconic club has suffered heavy losses of revenue, including the $164,250 they were forced to write off after the tenants of their Reid Street building, Total Home Ltd, went into liquidation and the termination of their contract with cellular provider M3 Wireless.Fears have also been raised that BIU is on the verge of calling in its loan to PHC. However, PHC president Furbert, who is also president of the BIU, has dismissed this claim.It remains unclear whether Mr Furbert was involved in the negotiations which led to the union loaning PHC money.PHC are currently exploring options to generate revenue to pay off debt and improve the club’s financial standing which includes potentially selling the club’s Hamilton building estimated to be worth between $3.2 million and $3.6 million.The option of selling the building has been strongly rejected by some of PHC’s membership, including club legend Earl (Townsey) Russell and Cal (Bummy) Symonds.