As recently as the early-1990s, NBA teams would practice at local college gyms. Just imagine, high-profile, multimillion dollar athletes working on their post-up games and pick-and-roll defense on the creaky floors and shaky backboards at Northwest Backwater U.
Eventually teams got their own practice facilities, and now teams are building state-of-the-art complexes filled with practice courts, locker rooms, fitness centers, hydrotherapy pools, dining halls, and medical and training rooms.
Everything is top-of-the-line, too. Teams want to make sure their players are happy, rested, and physically fit. Teams also use the facilities as a way to lure free agents, to make their team a place where the league’s best players want to play.
The Atlanta Hawks are shaping up to become one of those teams. The Hawks and Emory Healthcare and partnering to build a 90,000-sf training and sports medicine center in Brookhaven, Ga.
The building, designed by HOK, will be the NBA’s first practice facility to be located within a sports medicine center. The arrangement allows for immediate treatment and on-site access to advanced medical technology, like the 3 Tesla MRI, a body scanner that can detect injuries from bruises to torn ligaments. Emory will use 30,000 sf of the building for sports training and preventive and rehabilitative treatment.
The facility will also have equipment for 3D motion capture, cryotherapy, sensory deprivation, and in-ground hydrotherapy. Hawks players will receive training services from sports science company P3.
“By blending research, sports medicine, healthcare and training into one building, the Atlanta Hawks and Emory Healthcare will change the way the industry approaches athletic training and injury prevention,” George Heinlein, a Regional Rirector of HOK’s Sports + Recreation + Entertainment practice, said in a statement. “We have brought together HOK’s multidisciplinary leaders in healthcare, science and technology, and sports facility design to elevate the training experience and create a new model for professional and collegiate athletics.”
Construction will begin this summer, and the building will open in the fall of 2017, before the NBA season begins. The privately-funded center will cost roughly $50 million.
The Hawks currently practice in an auxiliary gym at their home at Philips Arena.
Related Stories
| Feb 6, 2014
New Hampshire metal building awes visitors
Visitors to the Keene Family YMCA in New Hampshire are often surprised by what they encounter. Liz Coppola calls it the “wow factor.” “Literally, there’s jaw dropping,” says Coppola, director of financial and program development for the Keene Family YMCA.
| Jan 29, 2014
Hotel, retail, recreation sectors to lead growth in 2014
AIA's Consensus Construction Forecast, a survey of the nation’s leading construction forecasters, is projecting that spending will see a 5.8% increase in 2014, led by the hotel, retail, and amusement/recreation sectors.
| Jan 29, 2014
Notre Dame to expand football stadium in largest project in school history
The $400 million Campus Crossroads Project will add more than 750,000 sf of academic, student life, and athletic space in three new buildings attached to the school's iconic football stadium.
| Jan 28, 2014
16 awe-inspiring interior designs from around the world [slideshow]
The International Interior Design Association released the winners of its 4th Annual Global Excellence Awards. Here's a recap of the winning projects.
| Jan 28, 2014
Big Ten Conference opens swanky HQ and museum [slideshow]
The new mixed-use headquarters includes a museum, broadcast studios, conference facilities, office spaces, and, oh yeah, a Brazilian steakhouse.
| Jan 27, 2014
A climber's dream: Rock climbing hall planned near Iran's highest peak
Forget the rock climbing wall. A developer in Iran is building a rock climbing hall. That's right, an entire building dedicated to the sport, with more than 48,000 sf of program space.
| Jan 13, 2014
Custom exterior fabricator A. Zahner unveils free façade design software for architects
The web-based tool uses the company's factory floor like "a massive rapid prototype machine,” allowing designers to manipulate designs on the fly based on cost and other factors, according to CEO/President Bill Zahner.
| Jan 11, 2014
Getting to net-zero energy with brick masonry construction [AIA course]
When targeting net-zero energy performance, AEC professionals are advised to tackle energy demand first. This AIA course covers brick masonry's role in reducing energy consumption in buildings.
| Jan 7, 2014
Concrete solutions: 9 innovations for a construction essential
BD+C editors offer a roundup of new products and case studies that represent the latest breakthroughs in concrete technology.
Smart Buildings | Jan 7, 2014
9 mega redevelopments poised to transform the urban landscape
Slowed by the recession—and often by protracted negotiations—some big redevelopment plans are now moving ahead. Here’s a sampling of nine major mixed-use projects throughout the country.
