3/14/2022
Amasa, Mich. (March 14, 2022) – When NCAA® March Madness® tips off this week, Connor Sports®, a Gerflor company, will again play a vital role in the excitement of the 2022 NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Basketball Championships culminating in the Final Four.®
 
As the Official Court Supplier of the NCAA Final Four® since 2006, Connor Sports will provide new, custom hardwood courts for the 2022 Men's Regionals and the Final Four® at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, and the Women's Regionals and the Final Four® at the Target Center in Minneapolis.  
 
The company is celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2022. 
 
"Connor Sports will again play a critical role in the 2022 March Madness®, and we view our Champion of Customer role for the NCAA very importantly as we proudly celebrate our 150th anniversary," said Benjamin Bachman, CEO Gerflor USA/Connor Sports. "The manufacturing and finishing process of new high-quality, custom hardwood basketball courts and the complex, just-in-time logistics of delivering the competition courts for the NCAA has been an exciting and unique challenge that we at Connor Sports have fully embraced, and we will execute the plan to provide the optimum playing conditions for the student-athletes competing in the men's and women's tournaments."
 
The 2022 Men's Final Four court is made from sustainably harvested Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified first-grade northern hard maple and is 70' X 140' using 394 panels weighing 188 pounds each 55,650 pounds in total. The 2021 Women's Final Four surface is also FSC-certified and measures 60' x 120' with 262 panels at 41,000 pounds in total. 
 
The courts were manufactured and inspected at the Connor Sports mill in the small town of Amasa, Michigan (population 300), beginning in the fall of 2021. The floor panels were stacked and banded in January of 2022 and then shipped to Connor's valued finishing partners for assembly, sanding, sealing, painting, and finishing before being loaded and transported to each Regional and Final Four location. Each court takes approximately four hours to install, led by Connor Sports Technical Supervisors and a local labor team of 10-12 local workers.
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