How to Lock Down a Portable Basketball Court?

[RudeBoie]

Trying to get a portable basketball court for work. It's been approved, but we're afraid it's going to get stolen- we know for a fact that people rummage through our trash bins, so we feel like leaving a portable court over a night or weekend will definitely make a huge thft risk.

We'd be getting one of those sand/water-filled courts. We could move it inside, but that would be a huge hassle having to do that every single day. Eventually, guaranteed, we'd forget one day, and then it'd be stolen.

Any suggestions? Are there any portable court systems that have anti-theft features? That sounds silly to me, but I have to ask.

 

[MikeMike]

i dont think that is a portable court, i think that is a portable basketball hoop.

just a small, minor difference...

chain it up to a fence or something.

MIKE

 

[mobobuff]

I'm confused by your use of the word "court" and not "hoop".

Edit: Chain it to something immobile.

 

[purbeast0]

get the kind that you cement into the ground, and i don't think you will have to worry about anyone stealing it.

 

[njmodi]

Originally posted by: purbeast0
get the kind that you cement into the ground, and i don't think you will have to worry about anyone stealing it.

Not stating the obvious, but this wouldn't be portable anymore.

 

[jdub1107]

You'll also ahve to worry about the net being taken. The church I use to attend had a outside hoop that was cemented in, but people would steal the net and lower the hoop to dunk. Make sure you lock the lowering/raising mechanism and remove the net if you don't want it stolen.

 

[Phoenix86]

Chain it up to a fence.

Fill it with sand, not water. They would have to be motivated to steal it (PIA to move w/o dumping sand).

 

[TechnoKid]

Originally posted by: njmodi

Originally posted by: purbeast0
get the kind that you cement into the ground, and i don't think you will have to worry about anyone stealing it.

Not stating the obvious, but this wouldn't be portable anymore.

Thanks you captain obvious!

 

[RudeBoie]

I guess with chaining up to a face, the only fence around seperates us and a golf course. It's a low fence and if we put the hoop facing it, I know the basketball will go over the fence a lot. Better to have it face the company building wall.

Is filling up the court with water much worse than sand? I think I would see how water could be easier to pour out, but not completely sure.

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: RudeBoie
I guess with chaining up to a face, the only fence around seperates us and a golf course. It's a low fence and if we put the hoop facing it, I know the basketball will go over the fence a lot. Better to have it face the company building wall.

Is filling up the court with water much worse than sand? I think I would see how water could be easier to pour out, but not completely sure.

ITS NOT A COURT!! ITS A HOOP!! GET IT RIGHT!!!

 

[FoBoT]

tie a vicious dog to it while you are gone, like a rottweiler or beagle or something really mean like that

 

[TechnoKid]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
tie a vicious dog to it while you are gone, like a rottweiler or beagle or something really mean like that

teh winnar!

 

[Phoenix86]

Originally posted by: purbeast0

Originally posted by: RudeBoie
I guess with chaining up to a face, the only fence around seperates us and a golf course. It's a low fence and if we put the hoop facing it, I know the basketball will go over the fence a lot. Better to have it face the company building wall.

Is filling up the court with water much worse than sand? I think I would see how water could be easier to pour out, but not completely sure.

ITS NOT A COURT!! ITS A HOOP!! GET IT RIGHT!!!

IT'S NOT A HOOP!! IT'S A GOAL!! GET IT RIGHT!!!

 

[mordantmonkey]

people that go dumpster diving aren't usually theifs. if they were they wouldn't be dumpster diving, they'd be stealing.

that being said, if it is portable there is always the chance that "someone" will steal it.

 

[Coquito]

Just use the wheels on the back of it to move back & forth. I had one as a kid. It moves just like a wheel barrel.

 

[slightlyhuman]

put a pack of wolverines by it

 

[HardcoreRobot]

why does it need to be portable? to keep people from stealing it?

 

[yoda291]

dig hole,
pour in cement plug with an iron loop.
chain hoop to plug.
to move, unchain from plug.

 

[DrPizza]

portable = can be moved (or in other words, moved to someplace else by some stranger = stolen)
non-portable = can't be moved.

Your goal is to make it non-portable. The question is how temporary you want the non-portability to be, and how enduring you want the non-portability to be.

You could probably surround the base with cinderblocks, cement them together, and render it to be non-portable to anyone without a sledge hammer. You could drive a metal stake into the ground, cement the stake in place, and chain it to the stake in the best location.
Personally, I'd go with that.

But, if someone wants to steal it, it's not that big a deal to cut a chain. (it's even easier if it's chained to a fence - you could use super-strong chain, but ultimately, only a few links at the most on the fence will need to be cut.

 

[Lorax]

if you look around, they might have portable hoops that are easy to assemble/disassemble. might work, but not sure about the quality of those.

 

[marvdmartian]

Instead of using sand or water, fill it with lead beads. The pinch-on type of fishing sinkers should do the trick quite well. Let's see 'em steal it when the base weighs 400 pounds!! :laugh:

 

[chuckywang]

pics?

 

[amdskip]

I would put in a cement round pad with some sort of metal piece sticking out of it that you could lock a log chain onto and the hoop.

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

Originally posted by: Phoenix86

Originally posted by: purbeast0

Originally posted by: RudeBoie
I guess with chaining up to a face, the only fence around seperates us and a golf course. It's a low fence and if we put the hoop facing it, I know the basketball will go over the fence a lot. Better to have it face the company building wall.

Is filling up the court with water much worse than sand? I think I would see how water could be easier to pour out, but not completely sure.

ITS NOT A COURT!! ITS A HOOP!! GET IT RIGHT!!!

IT'S NOT A HOOP!! IT'S A GOAL!! GET IT RIGHT!!!

IT'S NOT A HOOP!! ITS NOT A GOAL!! IT'S A BACKBOARD!! GET IT RIGHT!!!

 

[PaNsyBoy8]

use sand, instead of water, it'll be a PITA to steal, and no way are they going to get it on a truck.