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The Owls Are Floored

01.10.2012

Demolition began the evening of December 10th with final installation of the project on December 23rd. The Oregon Tech women played the first game on the new surface on December 27th. (photos by Kelly Caleb)

Danny Miles Court was replaced during Christmas break, providing a sparkling new venue for Oregon Tech athletes, its students and the children in the community to shoot hoops, play volleyball, practice the many other sports of the University and just stay active.

Crews began working at Danny Miles Court immediately following Oregon Tech’s men’s basketball game versus Johnson & Wales on December 10^th.  Crews wrapped up two days before Christmas and the Oregon Tech women broke in the new surface with a 77-50 win versus La Sierra on December 27^th.

The old floor was used for more than 35 years and Broken boards, patched areas, nails popping through, cracked finish and tape that covered holes was common, and in just 13-days was swapped for a new surface.

The OIT Baseball team provided much of the labor to remove the old floor and Bogatay Construction served as the general contractor and provided the skilled labor for the project.  Quality Electric added services to the project, as did Basin Telecom in updating the wiring, while Jim Bellet provided the equipment to remove the old flooring materials

The goal, in just four months beginning in June, was to raise money to purchase and install a portable floor for $150,000, rather than replace the existing one which would cost well over $500,000.  It included cost of the floor, shipping and installation.  The actual costs of the project ended up being $175,000 and the difference was raised through the campaign.

"This new floor is as good a small-college basketball venue as there is in the United States," Head men’s basketball coach Dan Miles said. "The old floor was probably the worst jumping floor in the (Cascade Collegiate Conference), and this state-of-the -art floor is as good as it gets."  The floor was designed by Connor Sports Flooring and was installed as a permanent portable floor.

A dedication ceremony for the new court was held on Friday, January 6^th 2012 thanks to community institutions, corporations and individual donations from those around the Klamath Basin.  Russ McMahon, Director of Athletic Development at Oregon Tech, along with 1,000 Win Committee chairman, Mike Moore, spearheaded the effort to see the project came to fruition.  Director of Athletics, Michael Schell, said, ”Without this leadership along with support from the Oregon Tech Foundation this would not have been possible in such a short time frame.”

McMahon added “This campaign turned into a community wide party of sorts.  Donors old and new flocked to the campaign with both their time and money.”

The 1,000 Win Committee, made up of a small group of donors, was the core work group for the Floor the Owls campaign and was considered instrumental in the success of the campaign.  The Oregon Tech Foundation provided the lead gift that allowed the floor to be secured.

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