The hardwood-floor court on which the men's college basketball title will be decided over the next three days was built by a Salt Lake City-based company, Connor Sport Court International Inc.

While that floor will be constantly in the public eye during the weekend's three games, beginning with today's semifinals, Connor Sport Court's presence will be even more evident around San Antonio's Alamodome.

Dozens of smaller synthetic floors will be used at "Hoop City," an interactive array of courts that, since 1998, have been set up as a Final Four sideshow to allow fans of the game to shoot jumpers and learn skills in clinics taught by Division I coaches.

"This is our third year doing it. It's a great environment," said Jeff Morton, a spokesman for the company, which started making modular sports surfaces in 1974 and now claims that "more athletic events are played on Connor Sport Court surfaces than on any other sports flooring in the world."

Its floors are used by the National Basketball Association, the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), USA Tennis Federation and USA Volleyball.

Even so, the Final Four is special, Morton added. "The collegiate atmosphere, the pageantry. It's just a wonderful experience," he said Friday in a telephone interview from the Alamodome, a couple of hours before Hoop City opened to the public.

The replica hardwood game floor was installed Thursday. It was built in Amasa, Mich., and shipped to Appleton, Wis., where the key and other lines were painted on, along with the NCAA championship logo. A five-day trip on a flatbed semitrailer delivered the modular floor's 248 panels to San Antonio.

Made of maple, the panels are each 4 feet by 8 feet, Morton said. They hook together through a tongue-and-groove framework and locking pin system. Overall, the floor weighs 50,000 pounds.

"It took us about 4 1/2 hours to install," he noted. "Typically, it takes two hours. But, being new, we had to develop an anchor system for the hoop so that when the big boys dunk, the hoop doesn't come crashing down."

Connor Sport Court, which has 250 employees at its Salt Lake City headquarters and 500 companywide, also is participating in the National Association of Basketball Coaches national convention and exposition.

The expo features a "who's who" of sports companies - big names such as Reebok, Nike, Gatorade, Rawlings, Wilson and adidas - and is expected to attract 7,000 to 10,000 visitors during its three-day run.

mikeg@sltrib.com