The Brisbane Bullets men’s professional basketball team has historically been a force to be reckoned with in the NBL (Australia’s version of the NBA). As one of the league’s founding teams, the Bullets have won three championships. That includes a finals victory over the Melbourne Tigers in the 2006-2007 season, in which the team also had a record-breaking 21-game winning streak.
Then, in 2008, the Brisbane Bullets disappeared. The team’s owner ran into financial difficulties in the wake of the global recession. After failed attempts to sell the team and find new ownership, the Bullets were forced to leave the league.
Over the next eight years, there was ongoing public outcry. Australian basketball fans in Southeast Queensland wanted their team back. In 2014, a movement took place on social media, and a #BringBacktheBullets campaign made it clear that something needed to happen.
Good news finally came the following year as change swept through the NBL under new leadership. League officials announced that the Bullets would be revived and return for the 2016-2017 season. The resurrected team would have a new look, adopting the traditional Queensland sporting colors of maroon and gold for their logo and uniforms.
The Bullets would also return to their primary home at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, and they would play on a new hardwood maple court from Action® Floor Systems.
A New Court for a Rebounding Team
After nearly a decade hiatus, the Brisbane Bullets chose to work with our dealer partner, Ace Floors & Coatings, a flooring contractor with strong standing in Australia. Action Floors Sales Representative Norm Goedheer says Ace Floors & Coatings has worked on other high-profile projects in which our sports floor systems were installed. That includes the courts at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), which is where the Australian Olympic team trains and the NBA holds a special academy for up-and-coming international athletes.
“The Brisbane Bullets were well aware of Action Floors’ reputation and quality and, obviously, the offering that Ace Floors & Coatings put forward was attractive to them,” Goedheer says.
“With the Bullets return to the NBL for the 2016-2017 season, one of the first challenges we ran into was quite a big one, our venues didn’t have a basketball floor,” says Brisbane Bullets General Manager Richard Clarke. “The Action Floors team was able to solve this issue for us. They listened to our challenge of needing to install and remove the floor for every game, and also the need to move the floor between venues and store the floor safely.”
Action Floors manufactures our exceptional NitroPanel® portable hardwood maple floor system for arenas and convention centers. It’s being used in many facilities across North America and in Europe. That includes professional sports venues such as the Milwaukee Bucks’ home court at the BMO Harris Bradley Center and the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois, where the WNBA’s Chicago Sky play.
“This was the first NitroPanel® portable floor in Australia, which we were all very excited about,” says Goedheer. “It’s used in a facility where one day there will be a basketball game, and the next day it will be used for a concert. The venue needs to be able to be multi-functional.”
The floor system also needed to be portable because the court would occasionally be transported to the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, which serves as an alternate location for home games.
As is the case with many projects, installation of the sports flooring is one of the last steps to take place, which can mean it may need to happen in a bit of a hurry.
In fact, the NitroPanel® floor system was delivered just a matter of days before the Brisbane Bullets’ home opener. Thankfully, this was no problem for the team at Ace Floors & Coatings. Goedheer says the design of this portable court allows installers to work quite quickly.
“It normally takes us about four hours to set up the NitroPanel® system,” he says. That’s not only a benefit to the initial team of installers, it also helps the in-house crews at the venue swiftly and efficiently switch out and set up the portable court whenever necessary.
Action Floors is committed to delivering an exceptional product that works well not only for the people playing on the sports floors, but also for the facility and management staff.
“Action Floors understood our budget challenges as a start-up team,” says Clarke. “They were able to provide a high quality portable floor with FIBA-standard backboard units, and a finance solution that made the whole exercise achievable.”
Clarke adds, “The Action Floors solution has been a definite success for us and made our re-introduction into the NBL prosperous from an operations point of view, turning convention centres and concert halls into professional basketball venues.”
We’re also extremely proud of the teams that play on our sports floors. That’s why Action Floors is honored to once again be an official sponsor of the Brisbane Bullets for their 2017-2018 season.
More About Action Floors Portable Hardwood Court Systems
The Action NitroPanel® portable sports floor is a FIBA-certified system providing a unique, interlocking design that makes assembly and breakdown a simple process. It offers the industry’s lowest panel weight per square foot, which means it is safer and easier for crews to install and remove.
The surface is comprised of high-quality, MFMA hard maple sections with each panel fabricated to exacting specifications for proper fit and appearance. Action NitroPanel® features Expansion Ridge Technology (ERT), which accommodates for board-to-board expansion, ensuring uniformity, durability and longevity.
If you have questions about using Action NitroPanel® in your facility or want to find out if it’s the right choice for an upcoming project, contact us today. You can also view a photo gallery of other facilities using this portable sports floor system.
