Brantford councillors hoping to “save the sculpture” at sports hall

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Brantford city councillors are hoping a way can be found to save a sculpture at the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre without spending a lot of money.

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The ‘Welcoming Sculpture’,  which features a young hockey player sitting on a bench tying their skates, sits in front of the Brantford and Area Sports Hall of Recognition. Donated to the city in 2013, the sculpture is showing signs of deterioration and requires $8,325 worth of repairs.

City officials have recommended removing the sculpture because it isn’t part of the municipality’s public art collection. As a result,  the city is unable to allocate funds from its public art reserve funds to cover the repairs.

City councillors at a March 18 committee-of-the-whole meeting tapped the brakes on plans to have the sculpture removed. They voted in favour of a suggestion from Coun. Mandy Samwell to put off a decision for at least month.

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The Ward 5 councillor wants to see if there are any other options available and she wasn’t alone.

“I had a look at this sculpture and I was a little bit surprised at how much it was going to cost to repair it,” Coun. Rose Sicoli (Ward 1) said. “I would like staff to explore if there are some more fiscally responsible options available or if this is the going rate.

“Maybe there’s someone out there locally who can fix this.”

Coun. Dan McCreary (Ward 3) would also like to see the sculpture saved.

“I’m a frequent visitor and a big fan of the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre,” McCreary said. “When there is a tournament on you can see little kids lining up to have their photo taken next to the sculpture.

“It’s important, it speaks to the legacy of the centre’s namesake and I’d sure like to see it retained.”

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Unlike other sculptures in the city, which are made of clay and dipped in bronze, the Welcoming Sculpture has Styrofoam interior with a ‘bronze-like coating over top, a city spokesperson said.

The damage is a result of wear and tear overtime.

Although there is signage asking people not to lean or climb on it, visitors like to have their photos taken with it. Consequently, the sculpture is often climbed upon resulting in the damage.

Small repairs have been done by city staff over the years however, at this point, the leg of the statue is now severed and there is a finger missing. City staff have said that while the damage could be repaired, the work wouldn’t prevent further deterioration.

The committee’s decision is expected to be approved when city council meets March 25. City staff will then try to come up with options for councillors to consider at a future meeting.

Vball@postmedia.com

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