Deal struck in St. Stephen to preserve world's oldest original basketball court
A New Brunswick group wants to breathe new life into a historic St. Stephen property that features what's believed to be the oldest remaining original basketball court in the world.
After years of talks, Canada 1st Basketball Inc. has entered into a deal supporting the purchase and development of the property at 4-8 King St.
In the upper level of the building is a roughly 125-year-old court that was once part of the St. Stephen YMCA in late 1800s and survived a 2010 fire.
Peter Corby, the group's president, said it has two years to raise the money to buy the building from the St. Croix Vocational Centre. Corby said the goal is to preserve the court and open a basketball heritage museum at the site.
"It definitely has the potential to be a tourist attraction in the town," Corby said.
Economic opportunity is only part of the reason why a collection of "basketball nuts" teamed up to buy the property. The rich history in a basketball town is something Corby — who grew up, taught students and coached basketball in St. Stephen — believes is worth cherishing.
History underneath their feet
The property changed hands throughout the following century, and it served as the historic Parsons Printing House before becoming the St. Croix Vocational Centre thrift store, which operates there today.
After the 2010 blaze damaged the building, the original hardwood court was discovered beneath the carpet, undamaged by the fire.
The vocational centre office, housed at a location separate from the thrift store, is interested in finding more space to accommodate the store. The arrangement is contingent on the development of an alternative site for the centre.
Tony Whittaker, who spoke on behalf of the centre's board of directors, said they are confident they will find a new site and continue to meet their mandate. The centre teaches work, literacy and life skills to about 40 adults with intellectual disabilities.
"It's an exciting time for both SCVC and Canada 1st Basketball and a very important step forward for the community as a whole," Whittaker said in a statement.
St. Stephen Mayor Allan MacEachern told CBC News he supports the project and wants to see both sides find success.
MacEachern said the historic site could be a tourist draw.
"That's a big deal," he said.
Rich history
Corby said Canada 1st Basketball believes the court to be the oldest original left today after courts in Toronto and Montreal were destroyed by fires. A court at a Paris YMCA also lays claim to the title of oldest in the world, but Corby insists St. Stephen's is older.
Basketball came to St. Stephen less than two years after it was invented by Canadian James Naismith in 1891 at a Massachusetts YMCA.
One of Naismith's players, Lyman Archibald, went on to serve as recreational director for the local YMCA and introduced the sport to the area, Corby said.
"In 1893, probably the first game of basketball played in the Maritimes was played in St. Stephen on this original floor, which is still there," Corby said.
However, the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame suggests Archibald organized the first game in 1892 — a game that Hall said was arguably the first in Canada.
Corby said one of the first, if not the first, international games was played on the court when the kids from Calais, Maine, challenged local players in 1893.
