Intertech Joins Effort to Restore Oldest Basketball Court in the World

As wood flooring experts who’ve installed and refurbished dozens of basketball arenas and wood gym floors, Intertech Commercial Flooring has built quite the basketball flooring resume.

So it was only natural that when we learned of an opportunity to help restore the oldest basketball court in existence, Intertech was immediately “on board,” pardon the pun.

Basketball may be considered an American sport – after all, it was invented in Springfield, Mass, in 1891 – but the oldest basketball court is far from US shores. You might be surprised to learn that it is in Paris, France.

The project is the Hungarian oak basketball court in the basement of a YMCA in Paris, which was designed and built in 1895. For nearly 130 years, youngsters have pounded the herringbone parquet floor. While the wood remains in good condition, the glue beneath the planks is releasing and the floor is showing some moisture damage.

Christelle Bertho, project manager at the YMCA in Paris, estimates it will require around $94,000 to restore the gym to its former heyday. In early 2023, the organization launched a creative “Adopt-a-Board” program to help fund the floor’s preservation. “The adoption of each board will enable the YMCA Paris Association to number it, remove its asphalt layer, clean it, sand it and replace it in the floor,” YMCA officials told AthleticBusiness.com.

“When we learned of this project to restore such a historic and beautiful wood floor, we were immediately intrigued,” said Billy Chrzan, Intertech’s director of wood flooring. “We are excited to adopt a board and be a part of wood flooring history in the making.”

For more information, visit the Adopt-a-Board website.

Photo courtesy YMCA Paris