Chattanooga's own Praters Flooring installed the UTC Mocs updated basketball court in McKenzie Arena today. The new-look floor has an innovative design that not only focuses on the traditional "Power C" logo at center court, but also incorporates some subtle new elements on the sidelines.
The first thing fans will notice on the new floor is the near-white appearance of the playing surface. The bleached Northern Maple hardwood provides an excellent background for the blue lanes and lines, as well as the gold Power C.
"We have been very instrumental in bleaching basketball courts to make them lighter and brighter," stated Praters President John Prater. "Many times you will see inside the three-point areas bleached and the rest of the floor natural. We decided to bleach the whole floor to make it that much lighter and brighter. It was a good transition with the white stained maple against the dark blue border."
Fans will also notice a faded sideline that includes UTC's official athletics website (GoMocs.com), the preferred Mocs' Twitter hashtag (#GoMocs) and landmarks from around the Scenic City. Starting in opposite corners on the sidelines, there are representations of Lookout Mountain, the Power C logo, the Market Street Bridge and the Tennessee Aquarium.
"Being a Chattanooga based company and UTC being our hometown University, we wanted to do something different that would really set the floor apart from everybody else," added Prater. "We came up with the idea of instituting some of the landmarks in Chattanooga to bring the University and the city together. The whole design is just something that grabs your attention."
Praters has provided over 60 NCAA Division I basketball programs with competition courts and recently completed the playing floor for the NBA's Brooklyn Nets. They also provide most of the courts in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, including the Final Four.