Indiana | The basketball players’ dream house

Have you ever imagined yourself making lunch in the kitchen, then throwing some balloons around, all from the comfort of your own home? At first glance, the idea is far-fetched, but it is nevertheless a real possibility in a former basketball gymnasium converted into a house, offered for a few weeks on the American real estate market.

William Theriault
special collaboration

Located in the tiny town of Wilkinson, Indiana, the building, built in 1950, was used as a gymnasium for about 20 years. And even though the place has become a house, half of the basketball court is still usable: the floors, bleachers and one of the original baskets have survived the test of time.

Currently, the home is on sale for US$299,000, slightly less than the average market price in that state. For that amount, your kitchen could be right below where the original second basket used to be. You can still see the lines of the field.

Naturally, the originality of the thing attracted curious people: the announcement has been consulted more than 130,000 times since its publication on 1^er July, on the Zillow website.

In total, the former gymnasium offers an area of ​​5357 sq.^⁠2, in which there are four bedrooms and three bathrooms. “The size of the house is quite remarkable,” remarks Mr. Wilson.

Besides the basketball court itself, one can spot several large carpeted rooms on the upper floor. The next owners will therefore be able to arrange them as they see fit – there is plenty of space.

At the end of the line, our interlocutor enumerates: USA Today, Sports IllustratedCBS, regional station FOX59, the newspaper Indianapolis Star, local television, and a sports talk show… “It’s superb,” he says with a palpable smile. The story was picked up everywhere. »

Embedded in local history

“Basketball is king in Indiana!” This sentence, uttered by Roy Wilson, says it all about the importance of this sport in the Northeast State, one of the first where basketball was popularized on American soil.

“The local school board stopped using the two classrooms it had in this building in 1971. The gymnasium served as an auxiliary for two or three more years,” explains the broker, who recalls having -even graduated from high school at this gymnasium in the late 1960s.

“I sold it to the current owners 20 years ago,” he continues. I think that’s why they chose me to sell it. They are the ones who converted the building into a house. They live there in a fairly minimalist way. »

Harvey Weir Cook, a Wilkinson-born American elite airline pilot, was born just a few houses from this building, Wilson adds enthusiastically. Died during World War II, Weir Cook lent his name to Indianapolis International Airport between 1944 and 1976. The former gymnasium therefore has one more link with local history.

A young family must buy it

Despite the attraction of this dream home for basketball players, Roy Wilson conducted about twenty visits before receiving a serious offer, a little higher than the asking price. “It shows that there was a lot of curiosity, but few needs,” he says.

It was a couple with young children who submitted the offer, pending the results of the inspections they requested. The small family was certainly seduced by the authenticity and size of the home, which is practically unique in its kind.

Before this purchase proposal reached him, the real estate broker even imagined being able to install a daycare center in the former gymnasium.

The young family members will enjoy the countryside living in the tiny town of Wilkinson. But in 45 minutes by car, they can also go to Indianapolis, which has nearly 900,000 inhabitants.

Before ending the interview, Mr. Wilson is asked if he wishes to add anything.

” Yes ! It still smells like a gym! »