The Oldest Basketball Court in the World is in a Paris YMCA

The origins of basketball are undeniably in America, in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1891 where the game was invented at Springfield College. But the oldest known basketball court is actually located in Paris, according to Invisible Paris.The court is located in the Union Chrétienne des Jeunes de Paris, on 14 rue Trévise in the 9th arrondisement of Paris, in a building built in 1892 (the same year the first public basketball game was played).

The invention of basketball in 1891 did not go unnoticed in the press, and the rules of the game were published in the newsletter of Springfield College. A sports teacher from Springfield was sent to the Paris YMCA, bringing wit him “a football (a specific ball for the sport wasn’t introduced until much later) and some fruit baskets.” The gym was already modeled on the one at Springfield, and the iron balconies provided support for the baskets. The first game took place there on December 27th, 1893.

The court is no longer regulation size but is still in use with games every Sunday. The original court at Springfield was destroyed in fire, rendering this supposed reproduction the oldest known to be existing.