Carolina Courts Finds a Business Solution in Omnisports™
When your livelihood is indoor sports, a floor becomes the most important investment you can make.
Beyond shock absorption and ball rebound, it is important to consider things like overhead costs and revenue streams. You may find yourself asking questions like, “How can I get the most revenue out of my flooring surface? How will maintenance affect my overhead cost? How versatile can my surface be?” Scott Chitwood needed answers to those same questions. Like you, his entire business model revolved around his gym flooring.
Scott is the co-owner of Carolina Courts, a for-profit recreational gym located in Concord, North Carolina. His business was growing and Carolina Courts was opening an additional facility in Indiana Trail, North Carolina. In addition to flooring in the new gym, Carolina Courts decided it was time to replace the flooring in the existing Concord facility as well. Scott was responsible for choosing the new sports flooring for both facilities.
Scott didn’t need just a basketball court. Carolina Courts hosts a year-round schedule of events, including basketball, volleyball, wrestling, gymnastics, and various non-sporting events. He needed to seamlessly transition between sporting events and also host non-sporting events like community gatherings. To be a viable business, Carolina Courts needed a floor that could do it all, and on top of that, it needed to be installed quickly.
For most businesses, a floor is not part of its key product or service, but for Carolina Courts, it supports all incoming revenue. For that reason, extended installation time would only hurt the bottom line.
To find a surface that would serve all his needs and be cost effective, Scott needed to consider the flooring material carefully. Hardwoods would be more traditional but would cost more to install and be more sensitive to humidity. Poured polyurethane would be durable, but it wouldn’t have the aesthetic appearance of a wooden court.
Lastly, Scott had to consider how much the ongoing maintenance of his sports flooring would cost. Different surface materials require different types of upkeep and some are more expensive than others. To be profitable,keeping overhead costs to a minimum was crucial. Everything was on the line.
The Solution for Carolina Courts
Omnisports 6.5 mm Classic Oak Installed with GreenLay™
Scott and his team chose Omnisports™ 6.5 mm GreenLay™ as the best surface for Carolina Courts.
Omnisports™ is a multipurpose sports vinyl flooring surface with Class 2 shock absorption per ASTM F2772. Its characteristics make it ideal for indoor sports, but its usefulness extends beyond just athletics. Omnisports™ can accommodate tables and chairs for meetings, assemblies, and other non-sporting events.
Omnisports™ was ideal for Carolina Courts because of its versatility. Having a floor that could transition from event to event quickly allows Carolina Courts to keep a busy schedule, which in a fixed cost business model is essential to profitability.
“In a day, we’ll have all 4 courts running basketball all day. We’ll run 35 games and then be able to switch it over to a wrestling event the next day. Then the next weekend switch it to a gymnastics event where you have chalk on the floor and go right back into a volleyball tournament.”
— Scott Chitwood
In addition to multi-use functionality, Omnisports™ is also more cost effective than hardwood flooring while still providing the classic wooden look that players want. Its non-linear surface pattern allows dirt to release for easier cleaning. As a result, Scott was able to maintain a cleaner appearance with lower overhead costs than he was able to do with his previous flooring surface.
“This nonlinear embossed pattern has allowed us to reduce our scrubbing schedule to about every 10 days and we’ve had no signs of the ‘5 o’clock shadow’ that you get with the linear embossing.”
— Scott Chitwood
Most critically, Carolina Courts could not start generating revenue until the flooring was fully installed—no floor, no income. Using the GreenLay™ installation method, which is unique to Omnisports™ 6.5 mm and 8.3 mm, each floor was finished in just 2 weeks because only 2% of the material needed to adhere to the subfloor. Consequently, Carolina Courts was able to get back to business as usual—fast.
In addition to GreenLay™, Omnisports™ has some environmentally friendly characteristics that help set Carolina Courts apart. It uses phthalate-free manufacturing technology and is certified asthma and allergy friendly™ by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.
In the end, Scott has experienced first-hand the benefits of using Omnisports™ GreenLay™ as a solution for his business. Not only did Carolina Courts get a premium athletic surface, it got a practical floor that helps keep the doors open. That’s a win-win.
Tarkett Sports • 175 N Industrial Boulevard • Calhoun, Georgia 30701 • 888-364-6541 • tarkettsportsindoor.com
