Comstock's magazine 1217 - December 2017 | Page 97

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NIGHT COURT
It’s about 3 a.m. on a Wednesday morn-
ing in September as 24 crew members be-
gin transforming the Golden 1 Center from
a concert venue (British indie pop band
The xx played the previous evening) into
a basketball court in time for an upcoming
pre-season game against the San Antonio
Spurs. The floor consists of 233 wood pan-
els, each eight-feet long and four-feet wide
weighing roughly 185 lbs each, according to
Sacramento Kings Manager of Arena Op-
erations Chris Spann. The team works in
groups of five, starting from the centerline
and then moving outward. Four individuals
place each panel, and a fifth member locks it
in place with a steel pin as another group ap-
proaches from behind with the next panel.
The panels are northern hard maple, save a
single strip of Sacramento elm in the Kings
logo at the heart of the court. “The crew is
really proud of putting the court down, be-
cause they can see it on TV and say they
built that, and be proud of their job,” Spann
says. The last thing the crew will do before
calling it a night is to roll the hoops onto the
floor and into their rightful places on either
end of the court. Game on. n
December 2017 | comstocksmag.com
97