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WEST VALLEY CITY — No NCAA Tournament games will be played in Utah this year, but the hardwood floor for the men’s and women’s championship games will spend some time in the Beehive State.
When the NCAA Tournament reaches the Final Four, some of the best college athletes will be competing on a high-caliber playing surface created by Connor Sports Court of Salt Lake City, which has produced basketball courts for the NCAA for several years.
Each year, in the weeks leading up to the big game, Connor Sports takes the Final Four floor on a tour so fans can get an up-close view.
Some fans may know the court is made of maple, but they may not know it is a very specific maple. It’s called Northern Rock maple and is grown in northern Wisconsin.
“The growing season is so short there that the rings are very dense, said Andrew Gettig, Connor Sport Court vice president of international business. “It’s got the rigidity for the basketball bounce, and the sold ‘thunk, thunk, thunk’ sound that you hear when you bounce the ball, but also enough flexibility for the players to make it easier on their bodies.”
Once the trees are selected, it goes through an extensive two-month process before the wood becomes basketball worthy.
“When the tree is cut down, the moisture content of the wood is about 45 percent. They have to dry it down to 16-18 percent before we can mill it and turn it into the boards,” Gettig said.
The lumber is sent to a Connor Sports mill in Amasa, Michigan, and cut into panels.
Once the panels are complete, they are stacked, banded and sent to the floor finisher in Idaho Falls, Idaho, where the wood is sanded, sealed, painted and finished.
“To protect the wood, they use urethane, which gives the right coefficient of friction," Gettig said, "so not only do you hear the ball bounce, but also the squeak of the shoes.”
The men’s floor is 70 feet by 140 feet — 9,800 square feet overall. It is made of 397 4-by-7 feet panels that weigh approximately 188 pounds each or 14 tons total. It takes approximately five hours to install. The women’s floor is slightly smaller in size: 60-by-120, weighing 10 tons.
The Final Four floor was in West Valley City on Wednesday morning and then traveled to The Gateway and EnergySolutions Arena.
“People are coming out and their signing their names and shooting some hoops and taking selfies with the court in the background,” Gettig said. “They’re having fun.”
When the tournaments end, the floors are usually purchased by the championship schools.
The company also makes floors for NBA teams, the World Basketball Cup and the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Contributing: Viviane Vo-Duc
