Iowa purchases basketball court used for 2026 NCAA Houston Regional Elite Eight

HawkInDenver

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Apr 16, 2024
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I'm not sure I understand why this is needed. What was wrong with the old court? The cynic in my also wonders why, if it is such a great court, was it for sale in the first place? Not trying to be negative but I just don't understand the rationale for making this move. Feel free to enlighten me ;)
 
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2D

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Oct 8, 2013
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I'm not sure I understand why this is needed. What was wrong with the old court? The cynic in my also wonders why, if it is such a great court, was it for sale in the first place? Not trying to be negative but I just don't understand the rationale for making this move. Feel free to enlighten me ;)
I believe the university explained that it has reached the end of its lifecycle. Sounds like they will be selling parts of the court to fans as well. It'll be nice to have a brand new court that's at least Elite 8 worthy to play on.
 

HawkInDenver

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Apr 16, 2024
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I believe the university explained that it has reached the end of its lifecycle. Sounds like they will be selling parts of the court to fans as well. It'll be nice to have a brand new court that's at least Elite 8 worthy to play on.
I wonder how much those court sections will sell for!
Especially the piece with CC "22" on it...
 

Hawksfor3

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Dec 5, 2016
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No more parquet. Hmmmm
 

Max Rebo

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Dec 31, 2022
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Interested to see what it's going to look like. I hope they go back to a gold/yellow look, though I expect it'll still be black. Just as long as it looks good, though.

Although it was unique, I honestly was never a big parquet fan so I'm not all
that sad to see it go.
It seems like a really good opportunity to change things up a bit, as long as they don’t go crazy.

I have always felt like the black court was an improvement over the old gold/yellow, mainly because with the old court, there wasn’t enough contrast between the color/stain of the wood and the yellow paint used for the lanes/sidelines. But with modern variations of stain now coming into common use, I could see an updated court with a lighter (more natural-wood) shade for the main floor, and a slightly darker gold (less of the 1980s canary yellow) used for the lanes/sidelines, that could look pretty good.
 

2D

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Oct 8, 2013
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Probably more than a lot of houses, but on a related note I'm all for putting a Nebraska 'N' where Mast was scrambling to stand up and run into the game on the new one!
That's the funniest part, every time little red will play at Carver, it'll be on the same floor their best season ever ended, and where they made one of the most embarrassing flubs in modern basketball.
 

Rifler

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Jan 26, 2011
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Wonder what they saved buying the used court vs. a new one.

Barely used, and I would expect both cost and delivery to be improved,.. These tournament courts at all locations are brand new for tournament play.. One and done installation.
 

TampaHawkFan

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Aug 6, 2025
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It seems like a really good opportunity to change things up a bit, as long as they don’t go crazy.

I have always felt like the black court was an improvement over the old gold/yellow, mainly because with the old court, there wasn’t enough contrast between the color/stain of the wood and the yellow paint used for the lanes/sidelines. But with modern variations of stain now coming into common use, I could see an updated court with a lighter (more natural-wood) shade for the main floor, and a slightly darker gold (less of the 1980s canary yellow) used for the lanes/sidelines, that could look pretty good.
Maybe a gold more like what Mackey used to have back in the 80s? Iowa's court in the 80s and 90s was admittedly a pretty bright yellow. I didn't mind it myself, but agree that more of a gold as opposed to bright yellow would look good.

If they do stick with the black, I hope they at least find a way to maintain a decent amount of gold in the design.

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Max Rebo

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Dec 31, 2022
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Maybe a gold more like what Mackey used to have back in the 80s? Iowa's court in the 80s and 90s was admittedly a pretty bright yellow. I didn't mind it myself, but agree that more of a gold as opposed to bright yellow would look good.

If they do stick with the black, I hope they at least find a way to maintain a decent amount of gold in the design.

View attachment 1295094
I think the key is in creating enough contrast between the main, “natural,” color of the court, which tends to be kind of yellowish, and the painted lanes/sidelines, if they are gold.

The Warriors do a pretty good job with this by keeping the main color of their court a fairly light shade. Something like that could work.

IMG_1458.jpeg
 

jedhawk77

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Jun 7, 2015
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That's the funniest part, every time little red will play at Carver, it'll be on the same floor their best season ever ended, and where they made one of the most embarrassing flubs in modern basketball.
Great point you two. I had not really thought of that angle. :)
 
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TheGuy9

Freshman
Mar 25, 2016
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It seems like a really good opportunity to change things up a bit, as long as they don’t go crazy.

I have always felt like the black court was an improvement over the old gold/yellow, mainly because with the old court, there wasn’t enough contrast between the color/stain of the wood and the yellow paint used for the lanes/sidelines. But with modern variations of stain now coming into common use, I could see an updated court with a lighter (more natural-wood) shade for the main floor, and a slightly darker gold (less of the 1980s canary yellow) used for the lanes/sidelines, that could look pretty good.
What? You could get whatever color stain you wanted 40 or 50 years ago. I played at a high school with a grey wood-stained floor in the 1970's. Basically stains are like paint. Start with a base and add different amounts of colors to get the color you want. There are some differences in longjevity and such due to modern materials but that has nothing to do with stains. The big improvements have been made in the area of sealants.
 
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Max Rebo

All-Conference
Dec 31, 2022
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What? You could get whatever color stain you wanted 40 or 50 years ago. I played at a high school with a grey wood-stained floor in the 1970's. Basically stains are like paint. Start with a base and add different amounts of colors to get the color you want. There are some differences in longjevity and such due to modern materials but that has nothing to do with stains. The big improvements have been made in the area of sealants.
Thank you for the gentle lesson.

Be that as it may, it’s only been in the last 10-15 years that wider variety of court colorings have come into popular use.