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AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904

The GW Hatchet

Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

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Officials name senior vice president, chief of staff
By Fiona Riley, Assistant News Editor • March 26, 2024

Smith Center now splashed with image of monuments

GW revealed its new D.C.-centric court design Tuesday. Photo courtesy of Athletics Communication

While the Washington Monument may still be under construction, GW unveiled the highly anticipated Smith Center court design Tuesday.

Plans for the new design were originally released back in May, with images of the White House, Washington Monument and Capitol building etched on the hardwood. GW also painted “#RaiseHigh” onto the end of the court, looking to further promote school spirit.

The athletics department is using the court design as a branding tool  as a “unifier of the campus” to enhance its mild but growing influence on campus, athletic director Patrick Nero said in June.

“We’re not trying to fill a 100,000 seat football stadium, so its not like we’re building a financial model based on ticket sales. So for us, a lot of it is building a fan base on the concept of bringing the GW community together,” he said.

The floor will be the new home of the men’s basketball, women’s basketball and volleyball teams. Schools like Oregon and Florida International have used similar court designs. Athletics department officials have said that the splashy design did not tack on costs because it was done in-house and the floor undergoes a refurbishment each year.

GW released a promotional video for the new court, which is embedded below.

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