Cranford Recreation Center
- Cranford Township, NJ
- Tarkett Omnisports Vinyl
- Gymnasium Floor
Preparation:
Ask any Recreation Director how they would describe a successful rec center, and you will get one common answer: busy. A recreation center is often the largest indoor space in a community. That also makes it the most expensive when it comes to heating, cooling, and other costs. To make the investment worthwhile, a rec center should be very active.
To encourage activity, indoor spaces must be useful and versatile. Steve Robertazzi, Recreation and Parks Director at Cranford Township, understood this concept when the decision was made to replace old indoor tennis courts. Instead of a dedicated space for one sport, Cranford needed a versatile building that could be used for multiple sports and other activities as well.
As with many renovation projects, the existing floors posed more complications than new construction. That’s why the decision was made to call in Abacus Sports Installations. With years of experience and technical expertise, Abacus was able to overcome substrate issues and give new life to the Cranford Recreation Center.
Installation:
In 2022, Abacus Sports Installations converted 19,000 square feet of dedicated tennis courts into 2 full size basketball courts, 2 full-size volleyball courts, and 6 pickleball courts. This transformation helped turn Cranford Recreation Center into the bustling community space leaders wanted. The key to this newfound versatility was a result of the sports floor Abacus installed: Tarkett Omnisports 8.1 mm Active with Tarkolay.
Tarkolay is a vinyl underlayment used where substrate conditions are less than perfect. It provides a solid foundation for the new floor installation and mitigates any hygroscopic pressure coming from humidity in the concrete slab. For Cranford Recreation Center, Tarkolay insulated the new floor from the existing site conditions.
The new sports surface for Cranford was Tarkett Omnisports 8.1 Active. Omnisports is a high force reduction vinyl sports floor that is extremely popular for multipurpose gyms. In an interview, Director Steve Robertazzi described the new Omnisports floor: “It has a very good bounce to it. It’s better aesthetics. It’s better for your joints. So, I think folks would really enjoy playing on this rather than a traditional wood floor.” From it’s traditional wood grain appearance to its comfortable feel underfoot, Omnisports has created an inviting space for recreational activities at Cranford Recreation Center.