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A carpet reveals a sticky patch on one of the basketball courts in Mackal Field House. Recreational Services is unsure of what is causing the courts to "melt."

Mackal melts: courts could be closed off for semester

By: Bridgette Blight

Posted: 9/10/08

09/10/08 - One of the basketball courts at the University of Rhode Island's Mackal Field House is melting, and nobody knows why. According to Christine Dias, supervisor of recreational facilities, special events and student leadership, Recreational Services has been monitoring the situation for about a year and it does not know when the court will be fixed.

The basketball court, in the center of the track in Mackal, has been shut down since the commencement ceremony in May. The damage goes the width of the inside of the track. It is covered up by plastic tarps and pieces of carpet. White plastic fences approximately three feet tall sit atop the damaged portions of the floor, ostensibly to prevent the area from being disturbed.

However, on one recent visit to Mackal, a student using the court adjacent to the damaged court fell into one of the fences, knocking it down.

"It's called inversion," said Jodi Hawkins, director of Recreational Services. "Basically, [the floor is] melting. It's like when you step on a piece of gum that's dirty and sticky."

The damaged portions of the floor vary in color. The oldest melted spots, covered by pieces of carpet, are tan. The newer melted portions, covered by clear plastic, are surrounded by black.

"We have different people looking at it right now, including a chemist from URI," Hawkins said. "The theory right now is that it's coming from water underneath but we really don't know."

There are no plans for fixing or replacing the floor at the moment. Since the cause of the damage remains a mystery, replacing the floor before a determination is made could be a costly mistake. There is no way to know if the problem would just reappear after replacing the floor, Dias said.

The floor problem has already impacted Recreational Services. Fewer students can use the basketball courts at any time. And, according to Hawkins, there is a possibility that the problem will worsen.

"The rate it's going, the courts could be closed for the entire semester," she said. "We're dealing with so many issues right now."

Editor-in-Chief Brenna McCabe contributed to this story.