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2023 marks the 70th anniversary for California Sports Surfaces which, over seven decades, has been delivering innovative, high-performance sports surfaces for events and facilities from the Olympics to the most prestigious global tournaments in tennis, track and field, and pickleball.

Providing sports surfaces that all players - from everyday amateurs to the world-class professionals - can count on, the company, an ICP Group Brand, has built its name on delivering continuous innovation to the marketplace. From the groundbreaking Plexipave®, the industry leader of athletic surfacing systems since 1953 - to Plexitrac®, an advanced track surface providing runners with the highest levels of safety and performance for 40 years - to brand-new innovations like CoolTop® Color Pigment Technology, which helps to reduce on-court temperatures, California Sports Surfaces has remained at the forefront of innovation from day one.

Commenting on the milestone, Tom Magner, Director of Product Management, California Sports Surfaces, stated “this is a special anniversary for our company and our brand.

“None of it would be possible without our customers. Along with bringing continuous innovation to the marketplace, we have always been driven by relationships-and those have enabled us to grow and continue delivering high-performance sports surfaces around the world.”

A History of Excellence
The company’s roots extend from 1926, when the California Stucco Company, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA was formed. Into the 1940s, the company began to split into different market segments, and in 1953, California Sports Surfaces and its first product-Plexipave-were born.

 Magner advises “Plexipave was developed because the company founders identified a need in the shifting tennis market.

“Grass and clay had widely been used for tennis courts prior to 1946, but there was a gradual shift toward asphalt and concrete surfaces that needed to be coated.”

 Thus, California Sports Surfaces became the first company to develop surface solutions specifically tailored to the needs of tennis-where coatings application grew increasingly important-and grew exponentially from there. California Sports Surfaces’ portfolio grew to include solutions for basketball, roller sports, track, cricket, netball, pickleball and more.

Jim Bittner, Sports Division Manager at Washington, USA-based Arrow Concrete & Asphalt Specialties, recalls “I first began applying Plexipave in 1982, and in my career as an applicator, I have tried nearly every available surfacing solution and nothing has ever been comparable.

“My 40 years of experience has always led me to Plexipave-exclusively.”

In 1997, California Sports Surfaces acquired Decoturf®, an innovative, multilayered system suitable for use in indoor and outdoor applications. It can be formulated to meet the requirements of players at any level, creating a state-of-the-art surface that can be trusted for safe and comfortable gameplay. The acquisition made California Sports Surfaces the largest manufacturer of sports surfaces in the world, exporting to more than 50 countries.

Patrick Dean, Executive Director, SEARA Sports Systems, advises “my experience with California Sports Surfaces goes back to 1994, when my company was approached by the Lawn Tennis Association of Thailand for a quality tennis surface for their National Training Center in Bangkok.

“We have grown our company business with Plexipave products in Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos and the Maldives. We would not have been able to achieve that kind of growth without the professional expertise and quality of California Sports Surfaces’ products. They’ve always had a solution for solving almost any surface problem that we have come up against.”

California Sports Surfaces’ dedication to the industry is further evidenced by its involvement in the founding of what is now the American Sports Builders Association (ASBA), a nonprofit trade association comprising builders, designers and suppliers for sports facilities, that exists to promote the highest standards of design, construction and maintenance.

Trusted by Top Tournaments and Professionals
The world’s best athletes may change from year to year, but there is one thing consistent about the top sports events in the world: California Sports Surfaces.

Every U.S. Open between 1978 and 2019 was played on DecoTurf®, and every Australian Open has had Rebound Ace® courts since 1988 and Plexipave® between 2008 and 2018. Plexipave has been the choice for the BNP Paribas Open’s surface-at the iconic Indian Wells Tennis Garden-for nearly 25 years and counting. DecoTurf was selected as the tennis court surface for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, marking the sixth time a brand from California Sports Surfaces’ portfolio has been chosen for use in the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Magner notes “these are some of the highest-stakes competitions in the world, with the fate of the world’s top athletes on the line.

“That is something we do not take lightly. We have long been committed to quality, to reliability, and to delivering the world’s best playing surfaces-and these top-level tournaments and events continue to seek us out as partners again and again.”

Ongoing Innovation
California Sports Surfaces was founded upon groundbreaking innovation-and that continues today.

Mager explains “we’re always looking forward in order to anticipate the needs of tomorrow’s athletes.

“And because California Sports Surfaces is part of the ICP Group, we’re backed by an extremely strong pedigree of chemicals and coatings expertise. Drawing from that expertise, we’re excited to continue bringing new and exciting solutions to the marketplace.”

CoolTop® is a direct result of the brand’s innovative mindset. Compared to standard outdoor court surfaces, the product offers a new range of vibrant topcoat colors that reduce acrylic surface court temperatures via solar reflectance. This helps to keep players engaged in sports and social activity longer, while minimizing heat-related impact.

Magner adds “we’re excited about what we’re bringing to the market with CoolTop, and so are our customers.

“Maintaining comfortable temperatures for athletes is increasingly important. CoolTop is a great example of how we’ve never stopped pushing the envelope-and we’re going to keep doing it for years to come.”

Click here to contact California Sports Surfaces in Australia via their entry in the Australasian Leisure Management Supplier Directory.

Images from the California Sports Surfaces archive.

Related Articles

18th October 2023 - California Sports Surfaces named official supplier for major Chinese tennis events

5th September 2023 - Palmerston Netball and tennis players benefit from California Sports Surfaces installation

19th October 2022 - Consultancies combine to present Synthetic Sports Surfaces Seminars

3rd May 2022 - California Sports Surfaces continues its commitment to Pickleball

16th August 2021 - California Sports Surfaces introduces Rebound Ace CoolTop

10th May 2021 - APT Asia Pacific adds new components to their playground rubber surfaces line

9th November 2020 - California Sport Surfaces launches Ultra Performance Series

14th October 2020 - California Sports Surfaces announced as ITF’s official preferred court supplier

2nd December 2019 - Smart Connection Consultancy releases updated guidance for Synthetic Sports Surfaces

26th July 2019 - Tennis Australia to roll out new court surfaces across the nation

30th July 2018 - SAPIA launches Code of Practice for installation and maintenance of sports surfaces

20th July 2017 - Laura Geitz to promote California Sports Surfaces netball courts

3rd November 2014 - California Sports Surfaces celebrates court success at WTA Championships in Singapore

22nd October 2014 - Plexipave distribution agreement serves up opportunities for California Sports Surfaces

20th October 2023 - FSB to explore sustainability in sports facility and playground construction

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