City officials in Eveleth, MN are debating the merits of moving the "World's Largest Hockey Stick" from its downtown location to the nearby Hockey Hall of Fame. Business owners in the center of town insist that it attracts tourist dollars; the wobbly Hockey HoF insist they need it for the same reason.

The 129-foot-tall stick was built free of charge by Christian Brothers Inc., Warroad, MN , manufacturers of sticks and blades used by NHL players ("Hockeytown USA" — take a factory tour). The big stick contains enough wood for 3,000 regulation-sized hockey sticks. It is positioned to let fly a 700-lb. hockey puck. Eveleth's obsession with hockey began back in the 1890s when the sport originated there.

To complicate matters, the controversial stick isn't the world's largest. That distinction goes to Duncan, a town on Vancouver Island in Canada. Originally exhibited at Vancouver's Expo '86, the 205-foot-long stick was moved here by barge and hoisted up onto the roof of the Community Center. [01/18/1998]

February 10, 2012