Giant dinosaur animatronics on Vancouver Island up for sale
It started with the purchase of two dinosaurs on a dare at an auction, but now Lantzville's Stan Pottie has 14 of them.
"You know, some guys collect tractors or fancy cars or whatever," said Pottie. "After I got the first two, then I got one out of Turkiye and then I got a couple out of China."
As his collection grew, so did the popularity of visitors coming to his property on central Vancouver Island. People attended birthday parties and holiday celebrations around the prehistoric creatures.
One of the 14 dinosaur animatronics is shown. (CTV News)"It kind of hit me by accident. When we brought the first one home, we couldn't believe the reaction we got and how people got so excited," said Pottie.
"Just the first one. And by the time we got the second one home we realized we got something here," he said.
But now, the creatures are about to become extinct, as they'll all be sold during an online auction on May 25.
The auction will be conducted by ableauctions.ca. The company's manager for Vancouver Island says the firm supervises about 200 auctions a year and surprisingly this isn't their first one involving the prehistoric creatures.
"We had a big touring dinosaur show about three years ago and it was a huge success," said Brett Johnston. "Kids love dinosaurs and there's a little kid in every grownup."
Johnston says much of the interest for the auction has come from business owners like Cameron Thun, who hopes to add something to his Prince George liquor store.
"Right now I have working model railways, I have radio controlled airplanes, custom-painted murals and hopefully now we're adding two Velociraptors," Thun said.
The dinosaurs displays are located in Lantzville, B.C., just north of Nanaimo. (CTV News)Dustin Edwards flew in from Drumheller, AB, to preview the items. He operates Barney's Adventure Park and says auctions like these are rare.
"It's not very common you see these animatronics pop up like this," he said. "There's some really cool dinosaurs here that we don't have as part of our collection, things like the pterodactyl behind me, some interesting smaller raptors."
Pottie says Lantzville wasn't keen on hosting a dinosaur attraction.
"The city doesn't want anything commercial or anything up in these areas even though there's lots of land," he said.
"We're not really hurting anybody but the town doesn't want them here."
Johnston says other locations are interested.
"There's one in Alberta that wants to have a town theme of dinosaurs, so I hope they have a chance of getting it," he said.
The dinosaurs drew visitors to the central Vancouver Island town. (CTV News)
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
PWHL Minnesota defeats Boston to win inaugural Walter Cup
Minnesota won the inaugural championship of the Professional Women’s Hockey League on Wednesday night, getting 17 saves from Nicole Hensley to beat Boston 3-0 in a winner-take-all Game 5 and claim the Walter Cup.
Canadians are eyeing moves to these cities for more affordable housing
Faced with elevated housing prices, half of Canadians in the country's largest cities are considering moving to places with more affordable housing.
B.C. mortgage broker ran $270-million Ponzi scheme, then fled Canada, bankruptcy trustee says
The trustee appointed to manage the bankruptcies of a Victoria mortgage company and its owner has concluded that they committed "numerous offences" and operated as a "massive Ponzi scheme."
Oilers rally to beat Stars, tie Western Conference Final
With the Edmonton Oilers down two goals late in the first period of Game 4, Rogers Place was quiet, fans seemingly bewildered at the early, quick scoring of the Dallas Stars and the slow start by the home team. Ryan McLeod's marker with six-and-a-half minutes in the opening frame left changed all that.
McDonald's says $18 Big Mac meal was an 'exception' and their prices haven't risen that much
McDonald’s is fighting back against viral tweets and media reports that it says have exaggerated its price increases.
'Targeted again': Montreal police investigate after gunshot fired at Jewish school
Police are investigating another building in Montreal's community was struck by gunfire.
Tessa Virtue reveals she's expecting her first child. Here's what Canadians had to say
Canadian figure-skating icon Tessa Virtue is expecting her first child, she revealed via social media Tuesday.
Poilievre says Canadians 'fleeing' to Nicaragua, Liberals say it shows he 'doesn't have a clue'
Liberal parliamentarians are criticizing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre over a new video in which he promotes the idea that some Canadians are 'fleeing' Canada to live in Nicaragua because they can't afford a house in this country.
'Do not drive': Nissan warns Canadian drivers of explosion risk impacting 48,000 vehicles
Car manufacturer Nissan has issued a do-not-drive warning for some older vehicles equipped with Takata airbag inflators, due to the risk of explosion during a crash.