While basketball is a major sport at many universities and colleges throughout the nation, there are certain safety and practical concerns that should be given proper consideration. One of those considerations should be the flooring that the athletes will be playing the games. Depending on the usage, the quality of the basketball court (arena floor) flooring can make a huge difference in how players perform on it.
That is why Alabama State University was careful in its recent purchase of an arena floor for the Dunn-Oliver Acadome. Since the previous arena floor had been there since 1992, with a multitude of repaintings and refinishings, the university felt the need to install new flooring for safety.
“The lifetime of the previous floor had been exhausted,” said Jason Cable, Ph.D., director of Intercollegiate Athletics. “When you get into playing on a floor that is that old, gaps are available and you can get into an unsafe playing space.”
The decision to put down a new floor was done with the idea of avoiding any safety issues to both students and staff.
According to Cable, the major factor in deciding what kind of arena flooring you are going to choose is going to be the cost and while Cable did not disclose the cost of the flooring, he did say safety was a great concern.
“It’s important to keep in mind that if you’re going to spend a lot of time out on your court floor, it will need a surface that will hold up under heavy use,” Cable said. “At the same time, you need something that won’t break the bank.”
According to Sean DeVore, District Manager with Mannington Commercial, a company that specializes in basketball court flooring, most indoor basketball courts have been constructed from wood with different types of substrate construction underneath to prevent moisture, provide stability and allow for some cushion.
“If you’ve been in a basketball gym, you can hear almost a hollow sound when the kids run down the court,” DeVore said. “That’s the court’s elasticity, allowing for that movement while the basketball players run up and down.”
Typical construction is wood planks or parquet like that used at the famed Boston Garden, the Celtics home court. Parquet is a combination of small strips of wood locked together forming a pattern within a 12-inch square or a 24-inch square. Both wood planks and parquet are quality materials, but they certainly are not the only option for quality courts.
According to Cable, the university used a “better grade of northern hard rock maple wood portable basketball floor.”
“We didn’t want to get to the point where we had any safety complaints,” Cable said. “We wanted to be proactive. When you get to the point where you have those complaints, there are significant issues that can occur. We were at the end of the life of the floor.”
The Acadome is a large space that not only accommodates sports games but also events such as robotics competitions and graduation ceremonies.
“It’s not just a basketball floor,” Cable said. “Obviously we have other events in the Acadome, so the purpose of the floor is not just athletics. We have multiple camps that benefit the community. Students utilize the floor in terms of activities. I’ve seen different groups on the floor. It’s not something that just benefits the basketball team and athletics. It’s more of an institutional resource that’s been provided through athletics.”