Consol Energy Center to get floor used in NCAA tourney
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One of the floors used in this year's NCAA men's basketball tournament will find a permanent home at the Consol Energy Center.
The floor was among five contracts totaling $520,593 awarded by the city-Allegheny County Sports & Exhibition Authority Board this morning for the new arena.
Tom McMillan, spokesman for the Penguins, who are overseeing the arena construction, said the floor will have been used no more than six times in the current tournament before being packed up and shipped to the Consol Energy Center. The floor will be considered refurbished when it arrives in Pittsburgh because the NCAA logos will be replaced with those for the Consol Energy Center, Mr. McMillan said.
"It's not like we're buying what you would consider a used car or a used court. It would have been new to this year's tournament," he said. "It's a top-of-the-line floor used in the NCAA tournament this year."
The floor, manufactured by Connor Sport Court International of Michigan, will come in handy when Duquesne University hosts the first and second rounds of the NCAA men's tournament in March 2012.
Because the floor is being used in this year's tournament, officials got a break on the price, Mr. McMillan said. The floor will cost $86,548.
The SEA board also voted unanimously to award contracts for broadcast camera equipment ($62,790); folding chairs and racks for them ($199,250); photo equipment ($25,500); and 12 spotlights ($146,505). The contracts will be paid out of the arena's $321 million budget, funded by gambling revenues, the Penguins and the SEA.
First Published March 26, 2010 12:41 pm
