Mike Wolanin | The Republic Mark Jones, second left, director Columbus Parks and Recreation, leads a tour of the Circle K Fieldhouse at NexusPark in Columbus, Ind., Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024.
“We Indiana boys, we get really excited about fresh hardwood.”
Two Columbus companies have their names emblazoned on the basketball courts inside the 150,000-square-foot Circle K Fieldhouse at NexusPark.
Force Construction Company, Inc. President and CEO Clayton Force and LHP, Inc. CEO David Glass accompanied parks officials and The Republic during a walk through of the facility on Wednesday.
The two courts on the north end of the fieldhouse are high school regulation and have Force’s logo. On the south end, LHP, a software company, will have its logo on two college regulation courts that will be home for IU Columbus’ men’s and women’s basketball teams starting next season, along with IUC’s Cheer and Dance team. There are also lines for eight volleyball courts and six total pickleball courts.
NexusPark is a joint effort between the city of Columbus and Columbus Regional Health to transform the former FairOaks Mall into a health, wellness and recreation center.
Each company contributed $150,000 each to have their logos on the court. Glass, who is also a representative on the Columbus Sports Committee, said he was compelled to get involved because of his love for sports and the community.
“I’ve been involved through the whole process for a number of years,” Glass said. “You know I grew up an Indiana boy, you know, hardwood smell is in our blood.”
“I’d say the focus wasn’t necessarily on the basketball court itself, as much as it was the holistic approach to the project, that we wanted to be able to provide a supportive way of helping make sure the project is a success,” Force said. “It’s important to our people and represents the work that our team has done on this project.”
Parks Director Mark Jones said there is a ribbon cutting ceremony set as a part of Mayor Mary Ferdon’s State of the City address on March 6.
Harvey Scruggs, NexusPark Fieldhouse sports manager, is responsible for scheduling events and said the fieldhouse will be used for local and regional events. Scruggs said the fieldhouse is set to host a couple of tournaments starting in March and the Reebok Classic, an AAU tournament, in May.
“We’ve got a couple of clubs and organizations that have reached out from as far as Illinois,” Scruggs said. “We’re going to have several different kinds of organizations here as far at AAU basketball goes.”
The facilities are in the midst of a “soft-launch” this week, Scruggs said, with The Columbus Express Soccer Club, a local baseball group and a local 7-7 football development group giving the facility a try.
Next to the basketball courts is a large swath of turf separated by netting that will be used for a variety of sports, including soccer.
Associate Director of Sports Brady Buckley said the floors were done by Cincinnati Flooring, which he said have completed about 70% of NBA courts. He also said that a contractor that was on site physically installed the court in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
“It was pretty huge to go with somebody who has a reputation installing courts like that.”
The courts’ installation began in late December and each has received four coats each. The basketball hoops sit on the side of the floor awaiting anchors, with the exception of one that has been rolled out onto one of the IUC courts.
Scruggs said they expect information about memberships to be available in March and everything will be fully up and running beginning in April.
