West Indies batting icons Brian Lara and Shivnarine Chanderpaul are set to headline a special exhibition match to mark the official commissioning of the new Anna Regina National Stadium in Guyana on July 3, 2026.
Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr., confirmed the presence of the legendary pair on Sunday, adding that the state-of-the-art facility in Region Two is now “essentially complete” following a construction phase that began in late 2022.
President Dr. Irfaan Ali is scheduled to preside over the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The new stadium represents the latest milestone in the Guyanese government’s aggressive national sports infrastructure drive.
Designed to decentralise elite-level cricket, the facility features an international-standard outfield and a high-spec drainage system that Minister Ramson Jr. noted is comparable to the technology installed at the Guyana National Stadium in Providence.
“To get to this point is a relief,” Ramson Jr. said. “When we came here, it was a totally different space from what the old Anna Regina ground was like, and this is a full-fledged stadium. It’s going to be a fantastic facility that [Essequibo] can be really proud of.”
The project, which received significant on-the-ground oversight from Minister within the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, Steven Jacobs, is being positioned as a “game changer” for the Essequibo Coast.
Beyond its utility for domestic and regional cricket, officials expect the venue to serve as a catalyst for macroeconomic growth, citing a surge in local hotel development as evidence of the stadium’s potential to stimulate sports tourism.
Anna Regina becomes the second major venue to be commissioned under the current administration’s infrastructure rollout this year, following the opening of the Bayroc Stadium in Linden.
The government’s pipeline of sporting developments remains active through the end of 2026, with the Mackenzie Stadium, the New Amsterdam Track and Field Facility, and the Palmyra Stadium all slated for completion before the year concludes.
For the local community, the arrival of legends like Lara and Chanderpaul serves as a symbolic endorsement of the region’s new capabilities, signalling that Anna Regina is ready to move beyond its traditional roots and onto the regional cricketing map.