Slide 1 of 16,

In 1976, the marketing committee of the board of directors for the Milwaukee Exposition Convention Center and Arena, Mecca, was looking to draw attention to its facility. When Steve Marcus, the chairman of the committee, learned that the court needed to be resurfaced, he hatched the idea to turn the floor over to an artist.

The design could not distract the players, and had to be simple enough that people watching on TV could keep track of the ball.