Phase 1 Fundraising Goal Met To Preserve Historic Basketball Court

An initial fundraising goal of $1 million to restore the world’s oldest basketball court has been reached.

The court is located in St. Stephen in a former YMCA on King Street.

A man named Lyman Archibald opened the YMCA and brought the game to the town after attending James Naismith’s YMCA class in Springfield, Mass.

The first basketball game was held in the facility on October 17, 1893.

The building is now owned by Canada First Basketball Inc., and organizers have reached a milestone.

“We started doing a fundraising push early in the summer (2021), and before Christmas, we were successful in privately raising $1 million,” Carol Kelly, fundraising chair, Canada First Basketball Inc.

“The initial $1 million fundraising campaign goal was reached thanks to the generosity of several Founding benefactors including John Irving and Anne Oxley of the Isles Foundation, Tom Liston, Frank McKenna, TD Bank Group, and many other supporting New Brunswickers,” reads a release from Canada First Basketball Inc.

Funds are going towards restoration efforts, and Kelly mentioned there are many things on the list to accomplish.

“We have to clean out the building, we have to do a detailed design, but the floor is in great shape, so we’re not going to make it a brand new floor because we want to keep it the world’s oldest basketball court.”

Fundraising efforts will continue until the $10 million end goal is reached.

“So, we are in talks with the provincial and federal government, and we are going to do some fundraising of our own, and we’re going to have our first annual celebrity golf tournament at the Algonquin this summer,” mentioned Kelly.

So far, former Olympian Donovan Bailey is “tentatively” set to attend the tournament.

It is anticipated that restoration will take between three to four years, and visitors can expect the story of Canada basketball.

“We’re going to take our rightful spot in history as the inventors of basketball, we’re going to have interactive exhibits, stuff from the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame, and a virtual reality tour,” said Kelly.

Kelly added it is thrilling to be part of an organization that is trying to preserve a part of history.

“Not just for New Brunswick, but Canada, for basketball, and the world, so it’s a great project.”