Article on Staples Center Logistics for Lakers and Clippers (Including Court Surfaces)

ESPN.com has an article (actually more like a photo essay with extensive captions) on the logistics of Lakers and Clippers games at the teams' shared venue, L.A.'s Staples Center. The piece covers a number of aspects, including public-address announcers, light shows, locker rooms, team stores, and so forth. One section, however, discusses court surfaces.

One thing I didn't know was that, "The NBA requires that each team change its home court every 10 years..." I interpret that as referring to the boards of wood, not the designs. After all, the Celtics have had the same essential floor design for as long as I can remember (going back nearly 50 years). Still, when teams make their decennial change in the physical court, perhaps that is an impetus for some teams to change design, as well.

Also, the teams use different floor-construction companies. The article notes that when the Lakers modify their designs -- mostly tweaks on the basic purple-and-gold scheme -- they must notify their builders "well in advance."

"They actually go out, and they physically choose and pick the wood," [Lakers' game-operations director Kathy] Montoya says. "So when you get a new court, you have to tell them way ahead of time because it takes a while for them to actually pick and choose which (pieces to use)."

The Lakers' arena-mates seem to change their motif more frequently.

The Clippers, previously known for using team colors blue and red in their court designs, underwent a makeover for the 2019-20 season. "We're a blacktop team," [coach] Doc Rivers said in 2018.

San Jose State Tones Down Its Court

I noticed while watching tonight's Utah State at San Jose State game on ESPN2 that the Spartans have toned down their court. The Spartan helmet design remains at center court. However, the huge shields that were in place since 2013 are now gone. With the removal of the shields, the helmet is now more vertically centered than before. Also, the keys are now painted solid blue, whereas they previously were yellow.