A new chapter in the global collaboration for urban regeneration projects dedicated to street basketball
Following the incredible successes of the previous editions of the Red Bull Half Court in Rome (2021), Cairo (2022), Belgrade (2023) and New York (2024), Mapei once again took the field alongside Red Bull. The Milan-based company created the sports courts for the preliminaries of the Red Bull Half Court 2025, an international 3x3 basketball tournament that brings together the world's best streetball teams. This year the event took place in Dubai on November 28th and 29th at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers Plaza.
Since its launch in 2021, the tournament has attracted tens of thousands of fans and involved more than 15,000 players worldwide, establishing itself as the global streetball event of choice. In 2025, for the first time ever, the event was held in the Middle East, with 18 teams representing 30 countries, for a weekend full of excitement. The competitions took place in the Jumeirah Emirates Towers Plaza, transformed into an extraordinary street-basketball arena with six courts and the futuristic Museum of the Future as a backdrop, where the qualifying rounds were held on November 28th. The finals took place on November 29th on an ultratechnological playing surface made entirely of LED panels, again at the same location.
Mapei created the elimination court playgrounds using Mapecoat TNS Paint, a coloured coating with selected fillers for the creation of sports surfaces, multi-purpose and pedestrian areas and cycle lanes, made from cementitious substrates, including porous and bituminous conglomerate substrates. This technology provides excellent slip resistance, colour uniformity and a reliable base for detailed artwork. Thanks to the artwork painted by artist Ferhad Kaz, each half court was transformed into an atmospheric street basketball setting, with visually fascinating designs created using Mapei products.
The partnership between Mapei and Red Bull Half Court began in 2021 with the creation of the Scalo San Lorenzo court in Rome, a work of about 800 m² created by the artist Piskv. Since then, the collaboration has expanded globally: in 2022, the world final was held in Cairo, in the shadow of the Pyramids, on a playground designed by Egyptian artist Ahmed Nofal (Nofal O). The following year, the tournament took place in Kalemegdan Park in Belgrade. Twelve months ago, Mapei created the Brooklyn Bridge Park court in New York, with the Manhattan skyline as a backdrop, designed by artist Carolina De La Cruz Rodriguez. With the 2025 edition of the Red Bull Half Court in Dubai, Mapei continues to promote sport and art, providing safe, sustainable, high-performance courts that celebrate urban aesthetic value.
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