basketball
A facility with a firm playing surface and basketball hoops, including informal single-hoop courts.
A basketball facility is a place set up and furnished for recreational or formally arranged basketball games. It must include one or more courts with a firm surface for ball dribbling, and basketball hoops at their ends. Although the official game of basketball requires either a 28 x 15 meter court (International) or a 28.7 x 15.2 meter court (NBA, NCAA), variations in court size and hoop height are allowable within the broader definition of the game, and informal play can even take place on courts with only a single hoop.
The firm surface supports dribbling, and the raised hoop provides the scoring target. Those features distinguish a basketball court from an unprepared open space where a ball can merely be thrown around.
A handball court has netted goals at its ends rather than basketball hoops. Basketball facilities can accommodate informal layouts and hoop heights, including the single-hoop arrangement described above, without being limited to professional competition dimensions.
