An Orlando, Florida-based architecture and engineering group is involved in the designing of a US$30 million football project for Guyana that was conceived by former Canadian star Alex Bunbury, according to a report in the Orlando Sentinel newspaper.
The report published on Tuesday said that Guyanese government leaders had positive reviews of plans by Baker Barrios Architects Inc. They included a 24,000-seat stadium, training fields, a co-ed sports academy, amphitheater, golf course, resort and retail. The report put the cost at US$30 million ($6 billion).
The report raised questions about what the Guyana Government’s role in this project was and if it involved approval for land and financing. Following the questions raised, both the Orlando Sentinel and the Baker Barrios websites yesterday clarified that neither the Government of Guyana nor Alex Bunbury had stated that the Guyana Government had already approved the project.
The Orlando Sentinel report on Tuesday said that those behind the project “… were looking for three parts: Something that could generate tourism and that was a hotel and golf course, and something that would also support MLS or European players and something that could host games with teams from South American, Mexico and Europe”, according to Wayne Dunkelberger, a principal with the firm. Another principal Tim Baker told the Sentinel that the concept calls for “sustainable legacy development.”
The Tuesday report said that Guyana would donate several hundred acres for the project. The financial package must be completed in four months, the report said.
There has been no official word from government on the approval of such a project here though Bunbury visited the country last month and spoke of plans to establish the Alex Bunbury Sports and Academics Academy (ABSAA) to Minister of State Joseph Harmon and Minister of Education Dr Rupert Roopnaraine.
At the time of Bunbury’s visit to Harmon, in a post on her Facebook page, Harmon’s press secretary Malika Ramsey said that Harmon was “receptive to a proposal aimed at balancing sports and academics in Guyana.”
According to Ramsey, it is estimated that the facility if given the “red light” will “initially require 20 acres of land, but the total needed for the entire and completed facility is 220 acres.”
However, she said, government is expected to have more consultations and meetings with the team in order to fulfill the administration’s mandate and policy that all such projects must be beneficial to, and serve the people of Guyana.
According to the Sentinel report, Baker Barrios Architects Inc has completed plans for the Amway Center, U.S. Military Academy and Creative Village. It connected with Bunbury through financial groups, said Dunkelberger, who presented to Guyana’s prime minister and president earlier this month, according to the report.
“This expansion project will provide a central hub for athletics while offering world-class amenities for fans and state-of-the-art resources and spaces for athletes to study, train, and live,” Dunkelberger was quoted as saying.
