Yahoo Finance Expo Center basketball court gets upgrade
Jan. 12—A crew traveled all the way from Chattanooga, Tenn. to make sure the new basketball court at the Southeast Expo Center is up and ready when used for the Pitt 8 Basketball Tournament this week.
The crew was from Praters Flooring, the company from which Pittsburg County commissioners purchased the new basketball court.
Workers spent a week at the site.
"We came to do some repairs," said Brian Keith, as he used an electrical saw to take out a small piece of the floor he planned to replace.
Preston Reavis assisted him with the project as other members of the crew worked on other parts of the floor.
They were confident they would have the floor of the new removable basketball court at the Expo Center in excellent shape in time for the Pitt 8 Tournament.
"I hope it shines like a new penny," Keith said as he continued to work.
Pittsburg County commissioners purchased the flooring from the Praters Flooring facility in Rossville, Georgia at a cost of $206,642, said Pittsburg County Commission Chief Deputy Sandra Crenshaw.
Shannon Stacey, facility manager at the Expo Center, said the repair workers were summoned to take care of a few issues.
He said the floor had some cracks in it and a few spots were too rough — things the Praters Flooring crew workers were in the process of resolving.
Crews first laid out the floor in early December so county officials could check it out. It was then taken up in time for the J. Michael Miller Toy Giveaway set at the facility on Dec. 9.
Since then several stock shows have been held inside Expo Hall, which required covering the original concrete floor with dirt.
"On December 17th, we had a stock show and we had 290 head of cattle," Stacey said of the show sponsored by the Pittsburg County Cattlewomen's Association.
Another stock show on Dec. 22 brought people to the Expo Center from three states, he said.
A Dec. 23 swine show followed that event.
Following the livestock shows, workers removed the dirt so the new basketball court could be set out again in time for the Pitt 8 Basketball Tournament, set at the Expo Center for the the week of Jan. 15.
Adding the new basketball court is part of continuing improvements county commissioners are making at the Southeast Expo Center.
Other improvements include the addition of new HVAC — or heating ventilation and air conditioning units. As a result, all of the Expo Center now has air conditioning, including the large west end sometimes called the Expo Hall.
Extensive roof work has also been done at the site.
County commissioners purchased the new basketball court after the city of McAlester removed the court the city had purchased, following actions by the commissioners to retake operations of the Expo Center from the city in 2021.
Commissioners hope the improvements to the facility, especially the addition of HVAC paid for with American Rescue Plan Act funds, will be a game-changer for the Expo.
