San Antonio Spurs’ new practice facility aims to help players win championships and maintain wellbeing

The San Antonio Spurs kicked off the current NBA season with a new practice facility that aims not only to help players win championships but also to promote their physical and mental well-being.

Designed by ZGF, the Victory Capital Performance Center uses biophilic design to promote better health and wellness on and off the court for players who spend much of their time indoors. The facility provides training, meeting, dining, and event spaces, while also offering outdoor experiences, indoor/outdoor spaces, and ample natural lighting.

The new 138,900-sf center includes practice courts; locker rooms; athletic training and performance areas; strength and conditioning spaces; recovery spaces, including hydrotherapy pools, sauna, steam room, and float tanks; kitchen and dining spaces; meeting and event spaces; outdoor training area; secure parking; workspace with offices and conference rooms for coaches, administration, and training staff; and a potential broadcast center.

The center also is billed as the largest mass timber constructed training center in professional sports. The design features cross-laminated timber, glulam beams, and concrete masonry units.

With masonry, glass, and wood, the design drew inspiration from the vernacular and landscape of the San Antonio region, particularly its Mission-style architecture, subtropical landscape, and San Antonio River Walk. Local limestone, knotty oak, and leathers nod to the local architecture.

While the front of the facility houses the practice courts and training spaces, the back includes smaller-scale spaces for privacy, gathering, and recovery. A public façade features board-formed concrete and glass fiber reinforced concrete piers that form a colonnade to display champion banners and guide visitors to the glass-box entry lobby.

Further into the space, the design becomes more intimate and residential in scale, providing more privacy for players and staff. The building offers a private players’ entrance; landscaped space for outdoor training; and secured parking for players, coaches, and staff. Intimate garden spaces allow the team and staff to gather or spend quiet time on work or recovery.

On the Building Team:
Developers: Spurs Sports & Entertainment and Lincoln Property Company
Design architect and architect of record: ZGF
Local architect: RVK Architecture
MEP and structural engineer: ARUP USA, Inc.
Civil engineer: Pape-Dawson Engineers
Landscape architect: Rialto Studio
General contractor: Joeris General Contractors

Advances in glazing materials and glass building systems offer a seemingly unlimited horizon for not only glass performance, but also for the size and extent of these light, transparent forms. Both for enclosures and for indoor environments, novel products and assemblies allow for more glass and less opaque structure—often in places that previously limited their use.