Locker Room Renovation: The Pride of the Players
Challenge
An old building with radiused walls, including both concave and convex curves, created unique challenges for engineers in renovating this old, outdated, and “mean green” basketball locker room.
GearBoss Solution
An impressive new space for athletes to be proud of and for coaches to demonstrate the University’s level of commitment to new recruits, complete with wooden lockers customized to meet the basketball team’s needs with university colors and logos incorporated into the locker design.
Benefits
- Efficient locker design to efficiently use the space
- An impressive locker room that instills pride in players and impresses new recruits
- Enhanced sanitation with integrated ventilation and antimicrobial surfaces
- Improved visibility with accent lighting and overall lighting improvements
- Safe storage with lockable cubby to provide security
- Convenience of USB ports for personal electronics
Highlights
The University of North Texas (UNT) basketball team locker room needed a facelift. It was old and outdated, with wood paneling, worn out lockers, and brick walls with bright, green paint. The school calls itself the “Mean Green Nation” – but the locker room took it too far.
“Some organizations like to show off their locker rooms, but we used to hide ours because it looked like a bunker,” laughs Luke Della, UNT’s Sports Information Director. “We were all in agreement that we needed a serious upgrade.”
They knew they wanted the best, most durable, and smartest solution on the market, so they called Wenger Corporation. The company’s GearBoss brand is known among athletic programs in high schools, colleges, and professional sports teams across the country. It was the perfect solution for UNT to create a modern, high-tech, and highly functional space for the student athletes to gather, gear up for the game, and wind down after.
“The locker room should be your home,” says Della. “It should be a place you’re proud of that represents the team, the program, and anyone using it.”
Form and Function
The old locker room was demolished to make way for the new.
“With our new space, we wanted top of the line lockers that gave our guys a space of their own,” says Andrew Hudiberg, Director of Scouting at UNT. “We needed the essentials: LED lighting, acrylic surfaces, wall-wraps, name plates, and televisions.”
This wasn’t the school’s first locker room renovation. They had also turned to GearBoss for track and soccer locker rooms earlier in the year, so they knew they were getting high quality products.
GearBoss crews installed 18 new lockers with custom-engraved backlit acrylic side panels, a flip-up TV monitor with USB inputs, and magnetic back panels to interchange graphics as needed. Each locker includes secure storage for valuables and a door that slides out and closes, making clean up quick and easy.
Locker highlights include:
- Custom-engraved backlit acrylic side panels
- Flip-up TV monitor with USB inputs
- Magnetic back panels for easily interchangeable graphics
- GearBoss exclusive heavy-duty coat hooks
- Graphite antimicrobial laminate finish
- GearBoss exclusive powder-coated, perforated, breathable base
- Digital locking storage compartment
The final touch was adding GearBoss storage carts to keep balls and other equipment organized and at the ready.
The Big Reveal
The difference between the old and new locker room is night and day.
“This locker room really sets them apart,” Schlatholt says. “It can make the difference if an athlete is considering two different schools.”
“The new locker room is fantastic and the students absolutely love it,” Della says. “It was Christmas in July when we revealed it. This is a place where the boys want to be, and they love that there’s been an investment into their space. They’re proud of it and so are we.”
For more information about GearBoss locker room solutions, please visit www.gearboss.com.