TVS Group were first approached by the University of Glasgow sports department, as their competition sports hall, including their existing sports floor, at the Stevenson Sports Facility, was in dire need of repair. The brief from the university sports department was to turn this into an iconic venue for higher education sporting competition, with a dream of offering one of the best sporting venues in Scotland. To accomplish this, TVS Group presented a proven and credible solution; an elite-level Robbins Bio-Channel Star timber flooring system.
Robbins is the preferred sports flooring provider to the majority of globally recognised National Basketball Association (NBA) teams such as the LA Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic and Chicago Bulls, and is rightly recognised worldwide for their product quality, sporting performance and most importantly their dedication to player safety.
Through a committed research and design department, Robbins are pioneering the advancement in sprung timber flooring systems. Their approach is from a unique perspective of reducing involuntary muscle activation and by doing so reducing player fatigue and the associated rate of injury occurrences. They do this through a patented design of their anchored, vibration controlling, resilient flooring systems.
Out of the systems available, the Robbins Bio-Channel Star sports flooring system was appraised, evaluated and chosen with confidence by The University of Glasgow sports department, primarily because this exact system met with the required sports performance criteria but also due to concerns over the temperature range, airborne humidity and location of the sports hall, this system was favoured.
Having decided on the most suitable system, TVS Group went about making this project happen. To start with the original sports floor, which was failing after only a few years, had to be removed. This also exposed a subfloor which required a huge amount of work. On all our sports surfacing installations, TVS Group partner with UKAS accredited, testing laboratories to perform a series of tests on all projects we undertake. This ensures all of our flooring installations are completed to the uppermost possible standards and surface and substrate regularity is suitable for the highest level of play.
The quality of the existing substrate was assessed and then levelled prior to installing the engineered sub-structure.
Once the substrate was corrected at this site the patented bio-channel continuous subfloor system was anchored to the concrete at regular spacings using a specialised fixing which allows the movement of the sprung floor but controls vibrations.
Furthermore, non-standard northern hard maple floor boards were custom produced specifically for this project, and the installed over the sub-layers. This level of engineering and precision in the installation ensures the sports floor complies to the highest international standards such as EN14904, MFMA PUR and DIN18032-2. By using this type of continuous sub-structure we also ensure the highest level of surface uniformity across the entire playing area.
Non-standard northern hard maple floor boards were custom produced specifically for this project, and the installed over the sub-layers.
As the brief from the University of Glasgow, was to create an iconic sporting venue, custom branding and colours were included within the design of the sports surface, ensuring all who play here know they are in the home of the Glasgow Tigers! For this level of intricacy, we turned to BONA and their Super Sport HD system.
Using multiple layers of primer, line marking paint, HD gloss finish and pure colour block paints, we created a unique finish fit for this prestigious project. Ensuring that the facility had a wow factor, TVS Group also refurbished the entrance corridor to the sports hall using our TVS Sports Turf in graphite black and bright yellow to create a custom floor finish which included a giant logo of the Glasgow Tiger again!
The Robbins Bio-Channel maple sports floor features visually striking and customised graphics.
This project was a point of pride for TVS Group who have a longstanding history working with clients within the higher education sector. The University of Glasgow now host what we believe to be probably the best basketball and multisport floor in Scotland!
Jane Kennedy, Head of Operations, Sport at the University of Glasgow had this comment:
“The University of Glasgow Sports Hall plays host to over fifty sports clubs and more than 14,500 members. University of Glasgow (UofG) Sport needed a floor that was suitable for any sport, sustainable and would allow our top student teams to achieve their potential on a state-of-the-art surface. We are delighted to be the first university in Scotland and only the second in the UK to have an NBA worthy Robbins maple wood floor system from TVS Group.
The product was tightly managed with TVS Group and was fitted on time and within the contractual agreements. We were very pleased with the professionalism of the team and support they provided during the project. Our BUCS (British University College Sport) winning basketball team has started playing on the new court and are delighted with the improvements. We look forward to welcoming everyone from the university community!”
The University of Glasgow team now join the University of Kent in the TVS Group and Robbins family, and we can’t wait to see how their athletes use and enjoy the facility for many years to come, especially as this type of sports floors is designed with a system life-span of between 50-60 years of anticipated use.
For information regarding how best to replace, refurbish or repair your sports flooring, whatever that facility may be, please contact TVS Group. The TVS Group is proud to work with worldwide best in class suppliers to offer the widest range of sports flooring solutions for both indoor and outdoor facilities, catering to both single sport systems as well as multisport surfaces.
Supplier: TVS Group
Telephone number: 01706 260 220
Email: Sales@TVS-Group.co.uk
Website: www.TVS-Group.co.uk
