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Will Bourda, above, venue for the first cricket Test of the 2003 Cable and Wireless series remain the number one venue for international cricket or will Guyana go the way of St Lucia and build a brand new stadium? (Ken Moore photo)
"We are still going ahead with the merger," a spokesman for the two clubs told Stabroek Sports.
The spokesman said the next step of the merger committee is to get the merger ratified.
"We are now in the process of getting the proposed merger ratified by members of the two clubs, " the spokesman said.
The GFC will take the position to their members on Monday while GCC will have to call a special members meeting to have the merger ratified.
If the decision is ratified the two clubs will have to seek a third party to assist with funding said the spokesman who declared.. "The GFC and the GCC cannot go it alone."
"Whoever provides the funds will be entitled to part ownership," the spokesman said adding that the committee was looking at around eight to $US10m for the project.
It is hoped that the facility when completed will be able to host matches for the 2007 World Cup but that will depend on the West Indies Cricket Board's Venue Assessment Team.
The hosting of matches will not be automatic and according the CEO of the WICB 2007 World Cup INC. a bidding process will be used to determine which venues will be used.
The GCC/GFC sports stadium will include a world class synthetic athletics track, astro-turf for hockey and will also accommodate football and other sports.
Indoor nets and practice pitches are to be erected and there will be plans to take in the Bourda mall.
Additionally, preliminary plans are looking at relocating North Road, with City Council's permission to behind the trench, the spokesman said.
The spokesman said even if the Guyana World Cup committee decided to not go ahead and stage matches at the new facility the merger will still go on but at a slower pace since, he declared, "We would not have a World Cup deadline to meet."
However insiders tell Stabroek Sports that the Guyana Cricket Board wants to start from scratch and build a new stadium.
The new stadium which sources say will be at Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara, will be erected at a cost of approximately $US15m.
Whatever the committee decides the government is expected to play a major role in the facility with funding for the projects coming from government or from lotto.
But there is some sympathy for the Bourda/GFC merger.
The two clubs, home of cricket and football in Guyana for decades, have played host to many international matches in football and cricket. The sterling contributions of these two clubs have been critical not only in the development of the two most popular sports in Guyana but also to the preservation of Guyana's rich sporting heritage.
The GFC, founded in 1902 by Scotsman Alexander Russell, celebrated 100 years last year and held a week of activities. The GCC was established several years earlier.