Connor Sports To Again Celebrate March Madness® With the 2015 Final Four® Official Court Tour
Chicago, Illinois (PRWEB) March 12, 2015 -- Connor Sports® and UPS® (NYSE: UPS) will again join the NCAA® in celebrating March Madness® by hosting the annual Final Four® Official Court Tour March 16-27 that will travel to eight cities over 12 days on the road to the sites of the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball championships.
As the Official Court Builder of the NCAA Final Four, Connor Sports and UPS will transport the Men's Final Four game floor from their finishing partner United Services Inc. in Idaho Falls, ID, to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis over a 12-day period, while making fun-filled fan tour stops at different locations along the way. Each tour stop will feature entertainment and basketball-themed activities for fans including a photo opportunity with a replica of the Final Four center court, basketball shooting contests on a Sport Court® backyard court and more.
Connor Sports will also supply the court for the 2015 Women's Final Four® on April 5-7, 2015 in Tampa, FL. The Women’s Final Four Official Court will make a stop at the Greensboro (NC) Coliseum on Friday, March 27 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
This year marks the 10th year that Connor Sports has been the Official Court Builder for the NCAA Final Four® and the seventh Final Four® Official Court Tour.
"We look forward to participating in the NCAA Final Four tournament every year," said Ron Cerny, CEO, Connor Sport Court International. "The annual Official Court tour has continued to gain fan interest each year and we enjoy interacting with the enthusiastic college basketball fans at each stop."
"UPS is excited to once again work with the NCAA to deliver the courts for both the Men’s and Women’s Final Four,” said Ron Rogowski, vice president, global sponsorships and brand. “These high profile deliveries, along with the many other that we’ll provide throughout March Madness, required an understanding of our customers challenges to develop solutions utilizing our world class network to make it happen."
The Men’s Final Four will be played April 4-6.
The 2015 Men’s Official Court tour is scheduled to make the following stops (ALL TIMES ARE LOCAL):
• Shelley High School, Shelley, ID – Monday, March 16 – 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.
• Buffalo Wild Wings/5600 West, Salt Lake City -- Wednesday, March 18 – 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• Gateway Mall, Salt Lake City–Wednesday, March 18 – 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
• EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City-Wednesday, March 18 - 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
• Northern Illinois University (NIU) DeKalb, IL - Friday, March 20 – 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• Connor Sports/1830 Howard, Elk Grove Village, IL – Saturday, March 21 – 11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
• Loyola University-Lakeshore Campus, Chicago – Saturday, March 21 – 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
• Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, IN – Monday, March 23 – 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) – Tuesday, March 24 – 11:30 to 1:30 p.m.
• Riverside Junior High School, Fishers, IN – Wednesday, March 25 – 9 a.m. to Noon
• Monument Circle, Indianapolis – Thursday, March 26 – 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• Men’s court installation, Lucas Oil Stadium – Friday, March 27 – time T.B.D. (media access only)
• Women’s Regional, Greensboro (NC) Coliseum – Friday, March 27 – 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Connor Sports also builds, maintains or installs courts for the following 2015 conference tournaments: BIG TEN; SUMMIT; WAC; SEC;*-BIG EAST;*-PAC-12;* MAC; MWC; BIG 12 and the AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE. (* - Men's and Women's conference tournaments).
Connor Sports manufactures QuickLock® portable floors annually for installation at both the men's and women's regionals and Final Four tournament venues each year. Additionally, the NCAA uses nine Connor Sports QuickLock Courts that are used for the second and third rounds of men’s tournament play that Connor services and installs annually.
The NCAA Final Four courts for both the men’s and women’s championships are manufactured from the best premium hard Maple Flooring Manufacturers Association (MFMA) maple. Prior to the Final Four tournaments, the courts are manufactured and inspected at the Connor Sport mill in Amasa, MI. The floor panels are stacked, banded, and then loaded onto a trailer and the sent to the finishing partners: United Services Inc. in Idaho Falls, ID for the men’s court, and to Praters Flooring in Chatanooga, TN for the women’s court. The courts are then assembled, sanded, sealed and painted before being loaded for the tour and finally delivered to each Final Four location stadium.
New for 2015 is Connor Sports and UPS involvement in Recycle to the Final Four™, NCAA sustainability initiative in partnership with K-12 schools in Indianapolis who collected #5 plastic materials that were sent to Connor’s mill in Amasa and were used in the sub-flooring of the men’s Final Four court.
Connor Sports Environmental Responsibility
• In 2009 an independent environmental engineering firm audited and designated Connor Sports a “Zero Waste Company.”
• As a member of the Maple Flooring Manufacturers Association (MFMA), Connor adheres to the strict grading and quality standards of that organization.
• Maple hardwood used in the courts is from a renewable resource, with the U.S. growing six times more hardwood than is harvested each year.
• Connor recycles 99% of its waste material and offers wood that is Forest Stewardship Council-certified. The FSC mark represents products from well-managed forests.
• Connor was the first MFMA member to be certified by the Rainforest Alliance, and is the only independently certified Zero Waste sports flooring manufacturer.
About Connor Sport Court International / http://www.connorsports.com
More athletic events are played on Connor Sport Court surfaces than on any other sports flooring in the world. Founded in 1872, Connor Sports floors have established themselves as the standard for professional and collegiate sports. Hardwood used in the courts is from a renewable resource, with the U.S. growing six times more hardwood than is harvested each year. Sport Court® is a registered trade mark of Connor Sport Court International. Since 1974, it has identified the original and authentic modular sport surface, continuously improved and patented to provide the highest levels of quality and performance. Connor Sport Court is proud to be the only sports surfacing company in the world that is independently audited and verified as "Zero Waste" and fully ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 14001 certified.
Connor Sports is on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/connorsports and on Twitter @Connor_Sports.
Lauren Gillian, Connor Sports, http://www.connorsports.com, 847-242-8339, [email protected]
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