The town of St. Stephen isn’t just Canada’s Chocolate Town, it’s home to the world’s oldest basketball court.
Now, a volunteer group is looking to turn the 130-year-old building into a museum and sports facility.
In December 2011, Canada 1st Basketball Inc. (C1BI) was established by volunteers to form a committee and start the process of restoring the historic grounds.
$1 million was donated to C1BI from business and community members to buy the property.
“We want to have three-on-three tournaments, school, provincial and international tournaments hosted in the museum along with the Garcelon Civic Centre,” said Tom Liston, volunteer chair member.
“Team sports give you so much, they give you confidence, teach you how to be leaders and be great teammates and it’s going to be amazing for the community.”
The world’s oldest basketball court in St. Stephen. (Image: submitted)
Ontario-born Dr. James Naismith completed the YMCA physical director training program at Springfield College in Massachusetts and was ordered to create an indoor sport to help deal with winter.
Naismith took 14 days to develop and play the very first game of basketball in December 1891. One of those students was Nova Scotia-born Lyman Archibald, who graduated from Springfield College in the spring of 1893.
Archibald became the general secretary for a newly-opened YMCA located on King Street in St. Stephen and organized the first game of basketball in Canada on October 17, 1893.
Four years later, the YMCA closed and the property switched from one business to another and mostly remained forgotten until a structure fire in May 2010 revealed the old hardwood floors.
Renovating and designing the building will be done by CambridgeSeven, an architectural firm based in Massachusetts.
The firm has done work for the U.S. Pavilion, the 1967 Worlds Fair in Montreal (EXPO 67), the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in Calgary, and most recently the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Canada 1st Basketball Inc. hopes the renovations to the building will be complete by 2028.
You can donate to the renovation by clicking here.
