A multi-purpose sports complex will finally be developed at White Hill Field as part of long-standing plans to transform the West End facility into a first-class venue able to host one-day international cricket.

Sports Minister El James, at a press conference yesterday, refused to be drawn on the cost and completion date of the ambitious project and admitted much would depend on the amount of cash available in Government's coffers.

He revealed some of the outlay, thought to be in the region of a few million dollars, could be clawed back from the Bermuda Football Association (BFA) and Bermuda Cricket Board (BCB) annual Government grants.

"It's too early to say when the facility will be complete," said James. "We have to go through the planning process like everybody else and we have to see just how much money we can muster.

"We have spoken with Bermuda Football Association (BFA) and Bermuda Cricket Board (BCB) and maybe we will have to take a piece out of their annual grants to finance this. The cost will depend on what exactly the final structure is."

James said yesterday the "sky was the limit" for White Hill Field, regarded as one of the premier cricket pitches in Bermuda, moments before a digger moved in to demolish its 40-year-old clubhouse.

Government want the new centre to become an alternative venue to the National Sports Centre (NSC) where elite athletes in all sports can combine training and playing with academics.

It is likely the multi-faceted community complex will not only include football and cricket pitches but an athletics track, softball diamond, changing rooms and classrooms.

"It makes no sense to develop our young athletes and coaches if our facilities are not up to standard," said James, a former Bermuda national team fast bowler. "Eventually we want one-day international cricket at White Hill Field.

"The idea is to develop as many top facilities on the Island as possible.

"The National Sports Centre is the Premier venue – that's still our Wembley. This will still be Somerset Bridge's home venue but we must take some traffic off the National Sports Centre. These fields, because they have the width and length, can become fully approved one-day international facilities if we can bring them up to scratch. The sky is the limit to what we can provide here."

Similar projects could also be rolled across the Island, according to James.

"We have some other plans for other venues but these are rough times and we need to look to how we're going to pull together the funds," he added.

"I've been talking about these plans at White Hill Field since 1997 when I was president of the BCB. It's certainly been a long time coming."

Government announced they would invest $11 million into cricket over a four-year period in 2005, while last year Bermuda Football Association were guaranteed $15 million over a five-years.