New Ford Center floor, with Thunder logo, will be in place next month
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By Mike Baldwin
Published: September 5, 2008
The same company that constructed the Boston Celtics famed parquet floor, and constructs basketball courts for NCAA Regionals and Final Fours, has built a new court that will be used by the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Connor Sport Court International began working on the new Ford Center floor soon after it was announced the team was relocating from Seattle. The company, based in Salt Lake City Utah, has been waiting on the nickname so the court can be painted.
"The court will be delivered by Oct. 20," said Jeff Morton, Connor's marketing manager. "The last process is painting the logo. We've already produced the floor. It's been sanded and ready to be painted."
Thunder management chose Connor after seeing the company's floor last year at the NCAA women's Midwest Regional held in March at the Ford Center.
"The Thunder went with our Power Guard pad, a resilient pad with a plastic encasement,' said Ron Cerny, president and CEO of Connor Sport Court. "It gives the best possible shock-absorption to the player."
The 6,720-square foot maple court, built to NBA specifications, was constructed at the company's mill in Amasa, Mich. Once the floor has been painted, and cured, it will be delivered on flatbed trucks to Oklahoma City.
Buy why does it take six weeks?
"It has to cure," Morton said. "After it's painted we have to put polyurethane over the top. When they ship it can get damaged when they start stacking it (on trucks), so that's why we use giant tarps to protect it. Then you have to get it set up in the facility."
Connor Sport Court began constructing sports flooring more than 100 years ago. Connor is responsible for courts used by the Celtics, Atlanta Hawks, Milwaukee Bucks and approximately 20 NBA practice facilities. The company also is responsible for floors used at the NCAA volleyball national championships.
The company constructs more than 2,000 courts a year. Clients range from major universities to churches, home gyms, high schools and NBA teams. Connor constructs courts used at NCAA men's and women's Regional and Final Four tournaments. Courts used at NCAA events usually are sold to colleges or universities.
"These guys are playing basketball at the highest level," Morton said. "This is a big deal. We're happy to be associated with another NBA team. All our wood is MFMA certified, which means it's part of the green system. We adhere to strict standards as far as foresting and environmental guidelines."
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"The agreement calls for the city to install A NEW BASKETBALL FLOOR, BUILD A HORNETS TEAM SHOP AND MAKE OTHER UPGRADES TO THE FORD CENTER and also attempt to repeal sales tax on Hornets tickets and seek tax credits and benefits for the team."
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So we already have an NBA floor that is only 3 years old (part of the $2 M in improvements to make the Ford NBA ready for the Hornets).