World's largest hockey stick in B.C. to be chopped up, sold to collectors
The world's largest hockey stick could soon become the world's most in-pieces hockey stick as a Vancouver Island community prepares to tear down and carve up the Canadian landmark.
The Cowichan Valley Regional District says ownership of the Duncan, B.C., attraction has been transferred to a local sports memorabilia company that will chop it up and sell it off to collectors.
The 62-metre wooden stick, crafted from laminated Douglas fir, was constructed for the 1986 Vancouver Expo and later affixed over the entrance to the Cowichan Community Centre arena.
Age, weather and at least one tenacious woodpecker have all taken their toll on the landmark over the years, prompting the municipality to declare the stick has reached the end of its lifespan.
"Ongoing maintenance and extensive repairs in the early 2000s have extended its life," district spokesperson Leah Waldron said in a statement Thursday. "But the glulam Douglas-fir structure of the stick and puck have decayed to the point that the structure requires intervention to ensure public safety."
Last summer, the regional district solicited expressions of interest and surveyed the community about the future of the 28-tonne stick, with most taxpayers indicating they did not support replacing the monument.
Genuine Collectibles Inc., a home-based business in nearby Shawnigan Lake, B.C., stepped up to take ownership of the massive hockey stick and puck. The regional district says it accepted the company's proposal earlier this month to remove the landmark and transport it to a salvage facility, where the useable materials will be made into small collectibles.
The regional district says the company is "experienced with this type of venture," after turning pieces of drag racing cars into "authenticated collectibles."
Genuine Collectibles says its trademarked "Piece of the Action" series makes ownership of authentic sports memorabilia accessible to fans at all price points.
"GCI has acknowledged that a portion of the sales will be donated to local sporting organizations and charities, and looks forward to working with the community in this exciting project," Waldron said.
The landmark is expected to be dismantled and removed from the arena in the coming weeks.
The world's largest hockey stick is seen at Cowichan Arena in Duncan, B.C., in an undated handout photo. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout-Cowichan Valley Regional District)
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6941344.1719400735!/httpImage/image.png_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.png)
She's still busy at 105. What secrets and science are behind Canada's 'super agers'?
There is ongoing research to better understand the relationship between social connection and healthy aging, and why the brains of super agers look different compared with their peers.
Travellers watch as WestJet cancels flights with no end to mechanics strike in sight
Travellers flying with WestJet continue to watch as the airline cancels more flights due to a sudden strike by its mechanics union.
Thousands gather in downtown Toronto for one of Canada's largest Pride parades
One of the country's largest Pride events will culminate Sunday with a massive celebration.
Is it cheaper to take time off work or send kids to summer camp?
It's a conundrum parents are faced with every summer: What should their children do during their break?
Faulty brakes, airbag systems: Here are the cars recalled in Canada
Transport Canada recalled various vehicles over the last week, including Kia, Toyota, Volkswagen and Porsche cars.
'Lab-grown' meat maker hosts Miami tasting party as Florida ban goes into effect
As Florida's ban on "lab-grown" meat is set to go into effect next week, one manufacturer hosted a last hurrah — at least for now — with a cultivated meat-tasting party in Miami.
Time crunch, rules mess could plague a Liberal leadership race
Calls have intensified for Justin Trudeau to resign as head of the party he almost single-handedly pulled back from the brink after a decimating electoral defeat in 2011.
Centuries of stories, from some of Canada's centenarians
The Canadian Press has spent the past month interviewing some of Canada's more than 11,000 centenarians and their families. These are some of their stories.
How will Louisiana's new Ten Commandments classroom requirement be funded and enforced?
Even as a legal challenge is already underway over a new Louisiana law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in classrooms, the details of how the mandate will be implemented and enforced remain murky.