SCHENECTADY — Just off Route 146, along a stretch of Amsterdam Avenue, lies what a new Guyanese group views as a field of dreams.The Guyanese American Association of Schenectady is hoping to one day attract people from all over to watch and play cricket in the Everett T. Grout Athletic Field in Mont Pleasant. But before that happens, the dilapidated park needs to be spruced up and the nonprofit group must win the blessing of city officials.“Basically Guyana and cricket go hand in hand in this community and people need a specialised park for cricket,” said Leakh Bhoge, 52, the association’s treasurer. The members are banking on support from Schenectady officials and $50,000 in county money allocated to the city for upgrades to parks in the city. Fundraisers are also planned.City General Services Commissioner, Carl Olsen, said the city supports the general concept of a cultural park but still needs to see a business plan if the idea is to go forward.Bhoge, a real estate investor, said the idea for the group, made up primarily of business owners and professionals, grew out of a discussion at a Father’s Day cricket match at Grout Park. The fledgling organisation recently held a duck curry competition and fair there.Bhoge and Bhisham Nandalall, the group’s vice president,Wholesale Authentic Jerseys, stressed their goals go beyond cricket. The game, which has similarities to baseball, is wildly popular among Guyanese and West Indians. He said many first-generation Guyanese-Americans like his children have fallen in love with cricket.Nandalall, 41, who owns Premier Diamond Realty on State Street, said the group also hopes to hold cultural celebrations and assist people looking for information on immigration, housing and other issues.County Legislator Philip Fields, who is Guyanese,Cheap NHL Jerseys, said the idea for the cricket grounds is in its infancy but he hopes the park would be ready for play by next summer, with space for several cricket games to be played simultaneously.The park also includes two structures, one of which housed a concession stand and bathrooms that association members say could be useful.“We’re trying to work out a central location where people from out of town and internationally can play,” said Fields, an executive member of the local association.He estimated the local Guyanese population at between 8,000 to 10,000. Though Guyanese have been moving to the city for more than a generation, the pace accelerated in 2002, when real estate agents sponsored bus trips downstate touting Schenectady. New arrivals, many from the Guyanese enclave of Richmond Hill in the Queens borough of New York City,New York Islanders Gear, then recruited friends and family.He said that document needs to illustrate how the organisation will generate revenue to ensure its survival and what the city’s role might be. Grout Park at one time was home to Schenectady Little Leaguers. Though cricket is currently played primarily at Central Park, Grout Park provides a central location with bathrooms and a large seating area.“In the end, this is about economic development, true entertainment and sports,Cheap Oilers Jerseys, and will benefit the businesses, including all the hotels, restaurants,Cheap Flyers Jerseys, and stores of Schenectady because of a large number of people traveling to the city,Cheap Jerseys China,” Fields said.
