MOORESVILLE — In a video shot in half light and sepia tones, amid the sound of a basketball meeting hardwood and sneakers squeaking on a gym floor, the familiar silhouette of Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark rises to launch a deep three-pointer from way beyond the arc.
Swish.
Clark, who has revolutionized women’s college and pro basketball with her Logo Threes, has made 75 (and counting) 3-pointers this WNBA season for the Indiana Fever and did it 548 times in her four-year career with the Iowa Hawkeyes.
But this time … this time, Clark was alone on the floor of Mooresville’s century-old Newby Dome gymnasium — also known as the Historic Mooresville Gymnasium that was first a civic center and then homecourt for the Mooresville Pioneers from 1920 to 1959. In part of the video, the “M” in the center jump circle is visible.
On March 30, Clark was quietly brought to town to star in a TV commercial at Newby for Wilson Sporting Goods Co., promoting her new line of signature basketballs — fittingly named Beyond the Arc. (Wilson, as it likes to say, is the official basketball of both the WNBA and the NBA.)
Sworn to secrecy
Quietly is a key word. For about 18 weeks, since Spring Break, a small circle of Mooresville school district employees knew but had to keep secret Clark’s brief appearance in town. Wilson had rented the gym to shoot the TV commercial, timed to premiere this month.
It was so secret that the Mooresville schools folks learned only the day before that it would be Clark coming to star in the video shoot.
The secrecy ended late last week after Wilson revealed a sneak preview of the ad for the new basketballs bearing Clark’s name. The news was quickly shared on the school district’s social media and included in last Thursday’s issue of Pioneer Blast, the Mooresville Schools newsletter.
Thanks, Mooresville
A film crew began setting up in the gym on Sunday night, March 29. An all-day shoot came the next day, the first day of Spring Break. Clark was on site for several hours on the 30th, either on the floor or preparing in a “green room” next door in the Academy Building (built in 1883), where a photo of Mooresville High’s 1917 girls basketball team was left for her to see.
Clark’s handlers, directors and production people were tight around her, and she did not interact much with school staff. Newby Elementary students and teachers were away for the week, so the gym was open for the ad shoot.
Clark did sign a basketball and left it for the school system. On it, she wrote:
Mooresville Staff,
Thanks for letting me use the gym!
– Caitlin Clark
The ball is safely on display at the schools’ education center at Indiana and Carlisle streets.
Newby’s old history
The Newby Dome was suggested by a location scout company that provided pictures of several historic central Indiana gyms. Apparently, Newby’s good condition and history caught the film crew’s eye.
The Newby Dome history began in 1920, when the gym opened with a New Year’s Eve extravaganza of a boys basketball game, a girls game, a game among the faculty, and a game for community members.
Over its life, the gym has been home to basketball of course, but also plays, concerts, graduations and community-wide events.
Back in the day, 100 supporters donated $100 each to raise $23,000 to build the gym. That’s about $384,000 in today’s dollars. Newby was Morgan County’s first basketball gym; Martinsville’s high school gym would come a few years later in 1924.
From 1996 to 1999, a Save the Newby Gym committee raised money to repair the by-then aging building, with a $77,150 grant from the Lilly Endowment assisting in the repair efforts. The renovated gym was rededicated on Sept. 11, 1999.
Money from Wilson’s rental of the gym for the Clark videos will go toward building maintenance, joining funds in a community endowment for the building’s ongoing needs, said Susan Haynes, the school system’s communications director and a leader of the high school alumni group.
Pride, joy, thrills
As would be expected, Mooresville Schools folks — as Supt. Jake Allen told The Correspondent — are “incredibly excited that Caitlin Clark and her team selected our historic Mooresville Gymnasium as the setting for this commercial. This is a wonderful opportunity to showcase Mooresville, celebrate our schools, and highlight the tremendous growth and impact of women’s athletics.
“We are proud that a facility with such a rich history will be featured alongside an athlete who continues to inspire young people in our community and around the world.”
And from Newby Elementary, which stands just feet away from the gym on North Monroe Street, came this post on Facebook last week from Kim Bates: “Thank you @caitlinclark22 and @wilsonbasketball!! I’m the principal of the building you filmed this in. Our students are so excited that you chose ‘us.’”
Added a mom: “The fact this was shot in the Mooresville gym where my little family is growing!! This is so awesome! My daughter loves CC and finding this out is sooo awesome! We see this gym all the time!”
