In Portland, Joe Freeman provided a video tour of the Trail Blazers remodeled locker room, which is a “complete overhaul of what it was last season.” Freeman said, “It’s all space aged-out.” The video room, which was “once a cubby hole that had a couple of minor televisions,” now has a “wall of six televisions.” The wall is a “pretty big transformation and I would imagine it’s one of the most state-of-the-art in the NBA.” Freeman said the “biggest financial contributions” of the Blazers remodel went toward the expansion of the hot and cold tubs for the players. Freeman: “Everything they do is catered towards the player and there’s no doubt that these upgrades, which are a significant remodel, will only help bolster the Blazers' recruitment of top talent going forward” (OREGONLIVE.com, 10/17).
NEW DIGS: In N.Y., Howard Beck wrote the Nets locker room at the new Barclays Center “appears to be at least twice the size of their old locker room at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, and much larger than the one they occupied the last two years at Newark’s Prudential Center.” The locker room by NBA standards is “probably about average.” There are “no special touches -- no televisions in the locker stalls, or customized bath robes and plush leather chairs -- but each stall does have extra electrical outlets to charge mobile devices” (NYTIMES.com, 10/16).
HONEY, I SHRUNK THE...: Knicks officials said that "with the second stage of MSG’s transformation nearly complete, the Garden capacity will fall about 1,000 lower than the usual 19,763 sell-out crowd.” In N.Y., Marc Berman noted the second stage of the renovation “featured a complete overhaul of the upper bowl.” The final stage next summer will “restore the seating capacity to normal levels when the much-hyped glass bridge is built across the upper tier from one side of the Garden to the other.” The bridge will also “contain seats.” The Knicks said that the third stage will “contain a resurfacing of the Garden’s famed pinwheeled ceiling.” Knicks PR Manager Stacey Escudero said that the ceiling “will be resurfaced in order to better the already impressive acoustics” (NYPOST.com, 10/17).
CRYSTAL BALL: CSNBayArea.com’s Matt Steinmetz said of the Warriors’ proposed downtown waterfront arena, “I don’t think that building will get built on that site by 2017. I think it’s possible that building could get built on that site after 2017” (“Chronicle Live,” Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, 10/16).
