SHORT TAKES : Opry’s Ole Floor on Sales Block

NASHVILLE — Country music fans may be able to get a piece of the Opry soon. Grand Ole Opry officials are thinking about selling pieces of a 16-year-old maple floor as mementoes. “Knowing the Opry fans and the market, they’ll probably go for somewhere between $5 and $10,” said Opry spokesman Jerry Strobel.

During the years the maple floor was on the stage, scores of country greats appeared on it, as well as non-country acts like Elvis Costello, B. B. King and Richard M. Nixon. The floor was replaced with beech planks from Denmark, because the old floor had cushions beneath to accommodate dancers and it was unsuitable for heavy rolling TV cameras.