The hockey stick that has hung in front of the Cowichan Community Center since 1988 is 200 feet long, but a new arena complex in Illinois is working on a 250-foot-long stick.
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The Cowichan Valley’s claim to be home to the world’s largest hockey stick could be toppled by plans for an even bigger stick in an Illinois city.
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The stick that has hung in front of the Cowichan Community Center since 1988 is 200 feet long, but a new arena complex in Lockport, a city of about 26,000 people southwest of Chicago, has a hockey stick 250 feet long. long in process to mount above the entrance.
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The Cowichan pole was built for Expo ’86, where it was placed at the entrance to the Canada Pavilion. It is located just inside the North Cowichan border, but the building is also jointly owned by Duncan and the Cowichan Valley Regional District.
Its place as the Largest Hockey Stick on Earth was authenticated in the 2010 Guinness Book of Records. It is also mentioned in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Count Duncan. Garry Bruce joked that the stick would have to be extended to keep his place in the record books.
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“I think we should nail a chunk down,” he said. I’ll make a motion and we’ll get a piece of log or something.
Duncan Mayor Michelle Staples and North Cowichan Mayor Rob Douglas also filed an addendum.
“We have a lot of room to expand our club,” Staples joked.
The stick is a local centerpiece and “an identifier of where you are in the community,” he said.
“It’s become something that people here really like and there’s a great hockey culture here as well.”
Plus, it’s fun to have something the area is known for, like the biggest hockey stick, Staples added.
Other oversized curiosities in Canada include the world’s largest hatchet at Nackawic, NB, and the world’s largest paper clip at Kipling, Sask.
“Canada has a good block in the hockey world, so we’ll stick with our stick here I think,” Bruce said. “It’s too bad they’re trying to get into our parade.”
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CVRD called the local stick “a community icon” that has played a role in the overall economic development of the region over the years.
Any future direction for the stick will be determined by elected officials and the community at large, CVRD said in a statement.
More than 660 LED lights were added to the stick in 2019 and are lit to mark holidays and special events.
The stick was in the news last spring when a woodpecker decided to take up residence on the landmark for a while.
Lockport Mayor Steven Streit said in a Facebook post that the city’s new Summit Ice Center is planned as a 71,000-square-foot facility with two NHL-sized rinks, a grass field and other amenities. Also planned is a 41,000-square-foot facility for off-ice hockey training focused on speed and agility.
The applicant’s report to city staff refers to the large stick on the exterior as a “hockey stick sculpture.”
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