Vancouver Grizzlies hardwood for sale on Craigslist
Team and NBA logos still on the boards at former practice facility
The old hardwood floor that the Vancouver Grizzlies basketball team used to practice on has been put up for sale on Craigslist.
The NBA franchise packed up and left the city 11 years ago for Memphis, but left the floor at their old Richmond practice facility behind.
For a while the facility was a Gold’s Gym, then Michael Marti took possession of the facility with the aim of converting it into a laser tag arena.
"When we looked at the floor it was difficult for us to make a decision to just rip it out. I knew that it must have value to someone."
So Marti placed an ad on Craiglist, asking for $13,000 dollars for the 437-square-meter court.
"We picked an arbitrary number of 13,000. Again, it's really not a matter of making money, although if we can make a profit we are in business and we'd be happy to do so," he said.
The regulation-sized basketball court comes complete with NBA logos and the giant insignia of the Vancouver Grizzlies painted in the centre.
"Perfect for any fan of the Grizzlies when they were around or even an NBA collector!" says the ad.
Marti wants to find a new home for the hardwood court before his new business opens this summer.
"If someone is able to come take it for memorabilia for the city, we'd rather have that than us just throw it in the bin and scrap it."
Marti says he has already received interested calls from as far away as Memphis.