New gym floor celebrated in North Minneapolis

NORTH MINNEAPOLIS -- The scent of fresh paint hung strong in the air Tuesday for the dedication of the new North Commons gym in north Minneapolis that is the legacy project of the Minneapolis Final Four Local Organizing Committee, writes Rochelle Olson in the Star Tribune.

Olson said the project, a joint effort by Dove Men Care, Target and the NCAA, was announced a couple of months ago.

According to Olson, the formerly scruffy basketball court is shiny and new — from the pristine court to the painted mural on the wall that reads: attitude, hard work, respect, encouragement, success.

Olson reports a couple hundred community leaders and kids attended the event, at which several speakers gave testimony to the importance of the community center.

Among them was Devean George, a Minneapolis native who played in the NBA for 11 seasons after playing basketball at Augsburg University.

George, 38, now a businessman, has returned to the community.

Kate Mortenson, the Organizing Committee CEO, led the festivities, calling the work a “transformative, refurbishment of this space.”

Minneapolis Parks Superintendent Al Bangoura noted that the first park in the city to have a basketball hoop was North Commons in 1908. “This is a place where people have always come to celebrate,” he said.

Mayor Jacob Frey gave high-fives to all the kids in the front row as he headed to the podium. “North Minneapolis is deserving of a primo facility. North Minneapolis is deserving of excellence,” he said, adding that’s what was delivered.

The NCAA Final Four is the final weekend of March Madness where the two remaining teams in the one-and-out tournament that began with 68 men’s basketball teams.

The games will be played Saturday and Monday. The festivities begin Friday with a free open house at U.S. Bank Stadium featuring open practices by the four teams.