NBL: Facilities Standards
An outline of the facility standards required for hosting NBL competitions.
Playing Court
The playing court shall be marked with 50 mm lines, as per the Official Basketball Rules. Lines should be of a contrasting colour to the floor colour.
The height of the ceiling or the lowest obstruction above the playing floor shall be a minimum of 7 metres.
Lighting should be uniform across the playing area and a minimum of 500 lux. The temperature of the playing area should be between 16°C -19°C.
The official size court for Senior Division 1 Men and Women and Division 2 Men is 28m x 15m. Venues with the older court size court size of 26m x 14m are only permitted in Division Three, Division Two Women, and Junior NBL.
The minimum required safety run to any obstruction including table equipment and team benches is 2m for senior competitions and 1m for junior competitions.
Fig.1 Basketball Court Dimensions and Set Up
Line Marking Requirements
- All lines should be 5cm wide
- Lines should be in contrating colour to the playing surface and visible to all
Advertising Boards
Advertising boards can be located around the court and must be a minimum of 2 metres from the end line and sidelines. Boards should not exceed a height of 1 metre.
Seating
The minimum seating requirements are:
Division One & Two Men |
250 |
Division Three Men |
100 |
Conference League Men |
50 |
Division One Women |
100 |
Division Two Women |
50 |
Junior Leagues (as appropriate) |
50 |
All Clubs must have adequate provision for disability/wheelchair users, this should be of six or one to every 100 of seated capacity.
Changing Facilities
The home club shall ensure that two separate changing rooms can accommodate a minimum of 17 people per team are available and include access to shower and toilet facilities.
A further two separate changing rooms which can accommodate three people (both male and female officials) with access to a seating area, showers and toilet facilities are also required for use by match officials. Ideally there should have access to store the officials’ belongings and clothing.
Equipment
Ring and Backboards
The home club shall ensure that in respect of each match played at its home venue, pressure-release rings meeting European Standard EN 1270 are used with 70 kilogram flex break.
The ring should be fixed to the framework in such a manner so that no force, transmitted by the ring is directly applied to the backboard.
The height of the ring will be 3,050mm from the top edge down to the playing surface. Nets shall be white in colour and suspended from the ring no less than 400mm and 450mm in length.
Fig. 2 Drop-down goal support structure example
Backboards shall measure 1,800 mm horizontally and 1,050 mm vertically. Backboards can be made of timber or transparent material with a minimum thickness of 19mm.
All lines on the backboards shall be:
- In white, if the backboards are transparent.
- In black, if the white painted backboards are non-transparent.
- 50mm in width.
Fig. 3 Backboard markings
Suitable padding is fixed to the backboard edges in all Senior, Under 18 and Under 16 matches.
Venues with older backboards measuring 1,800 mm by 1,200 mm must ensure that fixed padding is provided for all levels of competition.
Floor Type
The playing surface should meet the requirements of BS EN 14904:2005. Ball bounce must also achieve a minimum of 90% rebound and friction is to be between 80-110 when measured with a pendulum slip test device. The preferred floor type is an A4 timber floor with FIBA approval. Carpet, solid granwood or macadam floor surfaces are not suitable.
Scoring
The Home Club shall ensure that its home venue provides an electronic scoreboard and game clock which can be read by the Players, Match Officials and spectators throughout the course of the Match. The clock must at least show the passing of time in minutes and running score. In the event of a game clock being of such position that it is not possible for both Teams to have an equally good view of it; the Home Team must notify the Crew Chief at the pre-Match meeting.
Fig. 5 Basic Scoreboard Example
For Division 1 and 2 Men and Division 1 Women electronic scoreboard with digital countdown to show score, time, team fouls and time-outs are mandatory.
For all Matches in the Senior National Basketball League and Under 18 and 16 Premier Leagues a suitable Shot Clock device is required and must reset to 24 and 14 seconds. Shot clocks should be visible to all players and officials. Preferred location directly above the backboard.
Fig. 6 Basic Shot Clock Example
Table Equipment
The five player foul markers provided for the timer shall be of white colour numbered from 1 to 5 (1 to 4 in black and the number 5 in red). A Game Disqualification marker provided for the timer shall be of red colour and labelled with GD in white.
The two team foul markers provided for the timer shall be of red colour and clearly visible to everyone involved in the game, including the spectators, when positioned on either side of the scorer’s table.
The alternating possession arrow must be positioned in the centre of the scorer’s table and shall be clearly visible to everyone involved in the game, including the spectators.
Electrical or electronic devices may be used but they shall meet the above specifications.
NATIONAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE FACILITY STANDARDS |
D1*/ D2 Men |
D3 Men/ Conference League Men |
D1 Women |
D2 Women |
U18 & U16 Premier League |
U18 & U16 Conference/ Regional League |
U14 Premier League |
U14 Conference/ Regional League |
U12 Mixed/ Girls |
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PLAYING COURT WITH A MINIMUM RUN-OFF OF 2M FROM THE COURT EDGE TO ANY OBSTRUCTION (INC. TEAM BENCHES, SEATING ETC) FOR SENIOR COMPETITIONS AND 1M RUN OFF FOR JUNIOR COMPETITIONS |
28m x 15m |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
26m x 14m |
|
X |
|
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
BASKETBALL GOALS 3.05M FROM FLOOR |
Pressure release rings with 70KG flex break with adequate back support frame. |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
|
|
BACKBOARDS - 1.8M X 1.05M (MINIMUM THICKNESS 19MM), AND 1.2M FROM END LINE. OLDER BACKBOARDS SIZED 1.8M X 1.2M MUST BE PADDED |
2 backboards made from transparent material |
X |
|
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|
|
|
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2 backboards made from transparent or wood material |
|
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
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Backboard sides and lower edge must be padded. |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
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FLOORING |
Timber or synthetic floor meeting standard European Standard EN 14904:2005. Timber Area Elastic A4 floor preferred |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
SPECTATOR PROVISION |
250 seated spectators. |
X |
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100 seated spectators. |
|
X |
X |
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50 seated spectators. |
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X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
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CHANGING ROOMS |
Two separate 17 person changing rooms with access to shower and toilet facilities for use by home and away teams. |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Two separate 3 person changing rooms with access to shower and toilet facilities for match officials (male & female). |
X |
X |
X |
X |
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HEATING/LIGHTING |
Recommended temperature comfort for participants and spectators: 16°C. |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
A minimum of 500 Lux lights For televised games a minimum of 1400 Lux is required |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
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SCOREBOARD |
Electronic scoreboard with digital countdown to show score, time, team fouls and time-outs mandatory. Players names and fouls desirable. |
X |
X |
X |
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Running score and electronic / digital game time to be shown |
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X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
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Shot clock device that must reset to 24 and 14 seconds. |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
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