Millhouses Park Sheffield Medium Duty MUGA with Basketball England

“We are thrilled with the new courts. We are really impressed with how the project was managed from start to finish. We have received some excellent feedback from players who have used the court since its completion. The number of baskets and new mini baskets for young children makes the site suitable for all ages and I am really excited to see it in use.”

Peter Griffith, Basketball England

As one of the UK’s leading suppliers and installers of multi use games areas we specialise in sports such as football and basketball so when Basketball England asked us to work with them on a pilot project, we jumped at the chance.

The pilot site at Millhouses Park in Sheffield consisted of the refurbishment of an existing basketball court. Basketball England wanted a complete overall of the court, including new surfacing, refurbishment of the two existing frames, two reduced height frames and two official Basketball England frames which were specifically designed for this project.

This court is just one in a series of refurbishment projects across the country where Basketball England aims to revamp those within urban populations. To start the project, we hired a civil engineer to determine what pad sizes were needed to support the new and existing frames and what depths of excavation needed to be done to keep them in place. Once this was complete, we could start sinking the pads in to concrete and allowing them to set ready for the installation of the frames.

To ensure the ball does not leave the court when thrown, we extended one side of the fence to 4 metres high. We removed the existing 3m posts and replaced them with sturdy 4m high columns and a 1m high fence panel extension. To give the existing frames a fresh feel, we removed the old polycarbonate front of both boards and replaced with new. The next part of the project was the installation of the frames. The existing frames were installed onto their new pads along with new anti-theft bolts. The reduced height basketball frames were ideal for the younger players and were set at 8ft high rather than the standard 10ft. To put Basketball England’s stamp on the court, we designed two bespoke frames which featured the organisation’s logo on a HDPE panel. High-density polyethylene is extremely strong and will withstand all weather conditions so it was an ideal choice to feature on the frame. The bespoke units also featured a flexi-hoop which allows users to dunk the ball without damaging the hoop. The most time consuming part of the project was waiting for suitable weather to lay the new surfacing. Dry weather is always needed when laying any surface and particularly with acrylic paint. We gave the court a completely new look thanks to the anti-slip and anti-glare court paint. To ensure the new surface adhered to the existing tarmac, we first power-washed and treated the tarmac before laying a chemical bonding agent to allow the acrylic paint to
stick to it.

To make the court really stand out, we painted the court black with white and red line markings. To cater for younger players, we included colourful spots on the floor to help them with their shooting skills. Overall, the new court now caters for all ages groups and all abilities and looks appealing to attract new users and get more interest in the sport.