NBA Team With All-Star Locker Room
Challenge
Create a sleek and functional locker room to impress both the Sacramento Kings and opposing teams who visit Golden 1 Center, creating a seamless semi-circular shape with custom lockers to match the first-rate accommodations and high-end features throughout the facility.
GearBoss Solution
Customized walnut laminate lockers to suit program and player needs, which incorporate team colors and logos into locker design.
Benefits
- Beautiful high end look with functionality specific to tall athletes
- Customized name plate for each professional athlete
- Tuck-back doors to maximize convenience and space
- Fold-up seats to store items in footlocker below
- Sport-specific design with longer benches to accommodate taller athletes
- Continuous look and feel with semi-circular shape and benches in front to build camaraderie among teammates
- Built-in durability with stainless steel finishes, which last longer and are easier to clean
- Lockable cubby to keep personal items safe
Highlights
Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California is a world-class sports and entertainment center. It’s home to the Sacramento Kings and host to top-notch concerts and other major events. Everything about the facility is first rate, creating a superior user experience for anyone visiting the building.
When it came time to renovate the Kings’ locker room, Dave Sherrill, Director of Arena Operations, knew it had to match the rest of the facility. That meant it had to exceed expectations to serve the needs of one of California’s four NBA teams.
“We needed something that would impress anyone walking into the room but it had to hold up over time,” explains Sherrill. “This facility spends a lot of money to make everything look spectacular all of the time. The locker room had to fit that exceptionally high standard.”
Mike Mills, GearBoss Athletic Sales Manager, says the process started with GearBoss submitting a design proposal and artistic renderings to the architect, AECOM, as well as Turner Construction Company, and prime contractor Northwest Design. Once the design was approved to everyone’s specifications, GearBoss engineers created a mock up to ensure the lockers would be made correctly.
“It’s hard to schedule installation at such a busy location so we worked with the architect to make everything happen,” Mills explains.
Unique challenges
The Kings wanted their lockers installed in a semi-circular shape. The shape posed a unique design challenge as the lockers themselves were square-shaped, and had two features at each station that needed to work independently for each athlete: doors that needed to swing open unimpeded and tuck back into the wall; and benches with hinged seats that open into a footlocker area underneath. That configuration would allow each athlete to access equipment storage spaces simultaneously.
In addition, a column in the middle of the lockers created a break, but the facility manager wanted it to look as seamless as possible. To fix the problem, GearBoss created a custom filler bench that ran throughout the length of the lockers. The result is a single, seamless bench among all 16 lockers, representing a single, unified team.
“We also accommodated the additional height on these athletes with a longer bench and deeper locker,” explains Mills. “We took care of everything they wanted.”
But they weren’t done there. They had six other locker rooms to build. They installed nine coaches’ lockers for both the home and visiting teams, which had a different configuration to cater to coaches’ needs for additional hanging garment spaces.
For the competition, GearBoss installed a separate locker room with 17 visitor’s lockers. There are also 64 auxiliary lockers for non-professional teams using the lockers for a single day, and 8 more lockers in a separate room for officials.
“We went through continuous adjustments as the project progressed from concept to final design to construction. We had to move fast and communicate often to ensure the project was delivered on time, meeting the Kings’ expectations,” says Michael Jindra, Lead Applications Engineer, Cabinets and Athletics at GearBoss. “We were manufacturing back in Minnesota, so it was crucial that we thought through every small detail to ensure the installation team was successful in California.”
Grand Opening
The hard work and attention to detail paid off. The Kings players and staff love the new space.
“GearBoss nailed it,” says Sherrill. “It looks fantastic and has the impressive quality we wanted, not only for current players but also for new recruits.”
The GearBoss lockers at Golden 1 Center include:
- Customized trim and filler to adjust the square lockers to the curve of the semi-circular room
- Width of 3 feet, 7 inches, depth of 3 feet, 6 inches which includes a seat extension past the footlocker and a towering height of 8 feet
- Horizontal grade laminate with coordinating edge per architectural specifications
- Two-part shelf at the top of the locker: one side that’s open and one side with a digital lockable door, and a standard outlet
- Large open area in main compartment with 3 single hooks and a full-length, stainless steel garment hanging bar
- Upholstered padded hinged seat that opens to a stainless steel footlocker below
- Perforated metal front and bottom of the footlocker per architect’s specification, allowing airflow into the shoe storage compartment
- Purple LED accent light under the seat to illuminate face of footlocker
- Leveling feet to ensure a level installation and prevent wood components from contacting the floor
- Seismic fasteners
- 10-year warranty on locker construction
- Bolt-through construction to maintain superior door, hardware, and unit-to-unit connections
To learn more about Wenger Corporation and GearBoss products with customizable options, please visit http://www.gearboss.com.