Pacific Floor freshens up Robbins quality 15-year-old wood floor to become SSOTY Finalist

Being named a Robbins Sports Surface of the Year (SSOTY) Finalist is no easy feat. After all, with authorized Robbins dealers located in 65 countries on six continents, countless first-rate projects are completed worldwide each year. Included in that illustrious list is flooring for multiple Olympic venues, 22 NBA Championship teams and 20 NCAA Championship teams in the past 27 years, the Country Music Hall of Fame, and even the swim gym at Beverly Hills High School, known for its iconic role in the holiday classic film “It’s a Wonderful Life.” So, narrowing down finalists for the annual contest which recognizes the hard work of Robbins dealers is tough.

That’s what makes the SSOTY Finalist Quartz Hill High School gym floor project even more special. While all Robbins projects aren’t as high-profile as others, EVERY Robbins project – large and small – is equally important, because no matter what the task at hand, Robbins guarantees superior workmanship for all Robbins customers. Out of all the Robbins projects worldwide, Quartz Hill, part of the Antelope Valley Union High School District in California, was chosen as a 2017 SSOTY Finalist. In January, the gym floor was sanded, refinished and stained with new graphics by Robbins dealer Pacific Floor Company to the delight of everyone at Quartz Hill.

“The results were simply outstanding and we could not be more proud of this facility,” extols Antelope Valley Union High School District Facilities Manager Dale Carlson. “It’s gorgeous. It turned out beautiful.”

The Robbins Bio-Channel Classic wood sports floor system, surrounded by 5,000 additional square feet of maple parquet, was originally installed at Quartz Hill in 2003 by Pacific Floor. When it came time to refinish the floor, the principal at Quartz Hills, a UCLA alum, wanted to make a statement and differentiate from the other high schools in the district. Pacific Floor used UCLA blue and gold colors and stained most of the playing surface a dark maple, leaving the 3-point area clear to give it a contrasting look. The end product was a complete rejuvenation of a decade-and-a-half old floor with stunning graphics and aesthetics, proving a quality wood floor has remarkable performance, stability, durability, and longevity with a long lifespan and low life cycle costs.

“They (staff and students) love it,” Carlson says. “They like the stain and the graphics that they did and the players like it because it’s not slippery – it’s just tacky enough. It maintains the shine and it’s a quality floor.”

Carlson, who started as a custodian with the district 36 year ago, said floors were previously done in-house until it became more cost-effective to contract the work out to Pacific Floor. Carlson knows these gym floors inside and out, and was so thrilled with the work of Pacific Floor Company, he wrote a letter of recommendation for the Robbins dealer.
“They do very good work and they are very easy to work with,” Carlson continues. “They give us competitive rates and I’m very happy with them.”

The Bio-Channel Classic is a favorite among top NBA and NCAA teams and is used by the Wizards, the Lakers, Duke, Kentucky and Indiana. It combines the structural and dimensional stability of anchored flooring systems with the safety and comfort of resilient sports flooring, can withstand heavy loads and is shimmable for different slab depression heights or out-of-level slabs.

“The Bio-Channel Classic has been the premier flooring for the industry and for Robbins for over 20 years,” Sales Manager and Estimator at Pacific Floor Company Mark Herthel explains. “It’s been the top floor and most of the NBA teams practice on a Bio-Channel Classic in their training facility.”

Thanks to Robbins dealer Pacific Floor Company, the entire project was completed in less than two weeks, which is critical for a school like Quartz Hill with a student body comprised of more than 3,000 students, many of whom utilize the gym nearly continuously.

“Pacific Floor has been doing this for almost 50 years,” Herthel remarks. “Over those early years we’ve installed many, many manufacturers’ flooring but for the last 15-plus years we’ve been exclusively a Robbins dealer and there is a distinct difference – they’re better systems than other products.”