- to be replaced by modern sport facility

The Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC), which manages the Caribbean’s oldest cricket venue, took the radical decision to tear down the famous Clive Lloyd and Laparkan stands yesterday and it is said that they will be replaced with a modern sport facility.

Accor

End of an era: Management of the world famous Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) has finally decided to take down the dilapidated Clive Lloyd and Laparkan stands. GCC which is the oldest cricket club in the Caribbean and fourth oldest in the world is no longer an international venue for cricket. The establishment of the Guyana National Stadium in 2007 brought an end to that era. (Photo by Orlando Charles)

ding to GCC Manager Gladstone Faucett, the club, which is over 150 years old, will not be rebuilding the two stands which have served Guyana and the world so well. While they hold several cherished memories they have outlived their time and the club has to start thinking about the future, especially where revenue is concerned, he said.

After the National Stadium at Providence was completed, it was officially named ‘the cricketing venue’ by the International Cricket Council (ICC) and Bourda had to take a step back.

The Clive Lloyd stand, named after the Caribbean’s most accomplished cricketer and former West Indies World Cup winning captain, had become decrepit and was deemed not suitable for holding the thousands it had accommodated back in the heyday of the club.

“The stands are not going to be built but the space will be developed into a modern sport facility which will add more variety to our club,” Faucett said. “As you know right now we no longer host international cricket and as such we have to modernize the venue so we can make revenue and make it more marketable.” He did not elaborate on the modern sport facility.

He said, nevertheless that the club still plays a vital role in cricket, but primarily at the regional level.
“But even though we are not known as a major cricket venue any more, we still provide practice venue for teams who come here to play and so on and also we are still one of the major venues where regional cricket is concerned. Only recently we played host to the regional women’s cricket tournament, so I think we still have a lot to offer,” the club’s manager said.

Faucett said the Lance Gibbs, Rohan Kanhai and Kenny Wishart stands can still accommodate thousands and in that light GCC was still one of the top clubs in the country.
He said also that the club hopes to become the leading facility for the schools track and field championships which will get underway soon.