Construction starts on Cup monument
By Rory Gilheany
Construction is officially under way on Ottawa’s long-planned tribute to Lord Stanley of Preston and his famous gift to the sport of hockey.
Canada’s sixth governor general and his iconic namesake trophy were honoured March 18 at a ceremonial groundbreaking for the Lord Stanley’s Gift monument, to be placed at the corner of Sparks and Elgin streets.
The ceremony, which coincided with the Stanley Cup’s 125th anniversary, took place steps away from the site of the former Russell House hotel, where Lord Stanley’s top aide first announced the vice-regal donation of the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup in 1892.
“My predecessor, Lord Stanley, would be pleased to see us here where it all began,” remarked Gov. Gen. David Johnston to a crowd of dignitaries, city officials and local hockey fans at the groundbreaking event. “The heart of Canada’s capital is a fitting place for this monument.”
In a letter read on his behalf at an Ottawa Hockey Club dinner 125 years ago, Lord Stanley envisioned the creation of a trophy to honour the top amateur hockey team in Canada.
This trophy would eventually become the modern-day Stanley Cup, the biggest prize in the National Hockey League and one of the oldest active trophies in North American competitive sports.
Johnston said he hopes the monument’s historical significance will continue to draw hockey fans to Ottawa once it is completed.
“I think the monument will be a pilgrimage for Canadians to travel from across the country to Elgin and Sparks Street to see the replica of the Stanley Cup for themselves,” he said.
In addition to Lord Stanley, the ceremony also paid homage to the achievements of Paul Kitchen, a well-known Ottawa hockey historian, who was the early driving force behind the campaign for the monument before his death in August 2015.
In 2009, Kitchen founded Lord Stanley’s Memorial Monument Inc., the primary organization behind the monument’s creation.
Almost eight years later, George Hunter, current president of LSMMI, said it’s rewarding to see the monument finally move into construction.
“It’s fantastic to see it all come together,” said Hunter, who spoke at the event. “It’s thrilling to see the hard work of everyone involved, including Paul, finally pay off.”
The design of the $2.8 million monument — a three-metre-tall bowl with silvered aluminum bands — was chosen last year through a nationwide competition.
The winning proposal was submitted by Montreal-based design team, Covit/Nguyen/NORR.
“Our aim was to memorialize a man, his gift, and the important role that Ottawa has played in the history of hockey in our country,” Hunter said.
“We believe this monument will serve as a mecca for hockey fans to learn the true story of how the iconic trophy came to be.”
The ceremony was part of a four-day celebration of the Stanley Cup throughout the nation’s capital, an event that has long been in the works for the City of Ottawa, according to Mayor Jim Watson.
“This is something that we have been planning for three or four years,” said Watson. “It’s a big year for both hockey and Ottawa, and we wanted to make the most of that.”
In his speech at the event, Watson said he hopes the Stanley Cup monument will have a lasting impact beyond Ottawa 2017.
“While it’s great to have more tourists coming to Ottawa this year, we hope the monument will remind everyone in Canada of the significance of Ottawa and Lord Stanley’s gift to Ottawa for years to come,” Watson said.
The monument is set to be completed by December 2017, in time for the recently announced NHL 100 Classic outdoor game between the Ottawa Senators and the Montreal Canadiens at TD Place on Dec. 16.