Tyson Events Center Gears Up For NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball Championship With New Court

SIOUX CITY (KTIV) – The Tyson Events Center is gearing up for this year’s NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball Championship.

With 32 teams coming to the Tyson Events Center for the annual NAIA tournament, preparations are already underway to make sure the center is ready for the big event that starts Wednesday.

One of the biggest preparations to take place is putting in a new $93,000 basketball court.

The new court took three and a half hours to be installed and is replacing an 11-year-old court.

“The fact that we put it down, take it up, move it around and stuff, and also some of the things that we’ve experienced with it with the tongue and groove and putting it together, just led us to the point where it was time to replace that floor with a new floor,” said Tyson Events Center facility manager Glenn Walinsky.

The new court is made up of 225 sections that can easily be taken apart and reused once the tournament is over..

“The floor that they actually have is, there are 14 of the 30 NBA teams that play on this exact system,” said Robbins Sports Surfaces portable sales manager Greg Pierce. “So it’s exciting.”

The court was used by the University of Nebraska for six months before making its way to Sioux City.

Walinsky says that saved the city $13,000 for the purchase.

“I think it’s our fourth court now over 18 years that we’ve played on,” said Co-Tournament Director Corey Westra. “I guess they’re kind of starting to show the age of the tournament a little bit, that we’re going through basketball courts now too.”

Westra says he hopes Sioux City will not have to buy another court again.

He says the new floor is built to withstand its constant use and methods used to keep it in storage.

Officials say the tournament will be returning to the Tyson Events Center for 2016 and 2017 as well.

To view the video clip click here.

The court at the Tyson Events Center is gearing up for this year’s NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball Championship.

Source: KTIV News