As the hunt to locate facilities with the capacity to host matches of the 2007 World Cup intensifies the Guyana Cricket Board has approached government to provide land to build a stadium.
An informed source told Stabroek Sport that government and the Guyana Cricket Board have begun discussions in an attempt to realise a stadium fit to host matches of the 2007 World Cup.
The source told Stabroek Sport that a 25-acre plot of land at Liliendaal has been identified for the building of the stadium which will also be able to host football and boxing.
The land is situated near the site where the CARICOM headquarters is to be built.
When contacted Director of Sport Neil Kumar acknowledged that a committee has indeed been set up to look into the possibility of building the facility.
Kumar said that he, together with Vic Oddit and president of the GBC Chetram Singh had inspected several sites.
Kumar said that there is need for an alternative site since the merger of the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) and Georgetown Football Club (GFC) has been delayed.
"There is a need to be realistic. We have not been able to solve the problem with GFC and GCC," Kumar said.
He confirmed that when finished, the facility would be a multi-purpose stadium and indicated that the GCB had shown a preference for the site at Liliendaal.
"The cricket board would like to have land at Liliendaal because it would be easily accessible to persons in Georgetown, East Coast, East Bank etc," Kumar said.
According to Kumar government is now waiting on a proposal from the GBC. "We are waiting on a proposal on how the stadium would be built and the funding. We are working very close and this a genuine effort," the Director of Sport said.
On a recent visit to Guyana West Indies World Cup boss Chris Dehring warned that the country's top venue, the GCC ground would miss out on the World Cup if it was not brought up to standard. Dehring stressed that the 2007 World Cup remained under the control of the International Cricket Council and that traditional venues would not automatically be awarded games.