The Suddie playground that once was a vibrant home for scores of youths from the Essequibo Coast community has now been overrun with bushes and residents are calling for the venue to be resuscitated.
Stabroek Sport visited the site yesterday and was greeted with heavy vegetation and ‘busy busy’ bushes almost three feet tall covering the ground as well as a dilapidated pavilion.
Large puddles were also seen despite the scattered red loam that was haphazardly thrown across the entrance of the ground.
One resident said he remembered when every weekend the ground would be the place to be with 50-60 children playing.
“I remember probably like 10 years ago or more this place used to be packed with children playing cricket or football and it was good to see them having fun…the matches were so exciting!” the resident stated.
Another resident who lives towards the back of the venue noted that the government, through the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, has been pledging assistance to various grounds and only last month the subject minister was on the Essequibo Coast assisting venues.
It was on this basis that she asked for someone to look into getting the ground back in order.
“I saw in the news the minister giving $10M to couple grounds here and there. I think it would be so good if something could be done to bring back sports here,” the elderly resident said while adding, “it was like a tradition, you know, we would come out and all watch sports and have a nice time with our friends and family.”
It was reported in sections of the media back in 2017 that the Regional Democratic Council of Region Two along with the Annadale/Riverstown Neighbourhood Democratic Council had pledged its support towards the development of the facility.
The report in a daily publication indicated that officials realized that the ground, which is one of the bigger grounds on the coast, was underutilized and it had the capacity to host several events.
In October 2020, the Guyana Chronicle reported that President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali had committed $2.4M for upgrading the recreational facility and another $30M to upgrade the miscellaneous roads.
The state-owned media outlet explained that the president expressed that there will be tremendous improvement in the sporting sector in the region while handing over cricket gear to two clubs.
The ground has produced players such as national left-arm spinner, Antony Adams and national youth players including Royston Alkins, Akinie Adams, Dillon Heyliger
