Dallas, TX – March 18, 2016 – American Airlines Center: Dirk Nowitzki (41) of the Dallas Mavericks during a regular season game
(Photo by Allen Kee / ESPN Images)
The Dallas Mavericks have been busy planning for their 2017-18 campaign since missing out on the playoffs in April. Improving through the draft and free agency are certainly the main areas of focus, but the team’s facilities will see a noticeable upgrade, as well.
Renovations have begun on the Mavs’ locker room, weight room, and staff offices at the American Airlines Center. The goal is to take advantage of today’s technological advances while giving the team a competitive edge, according to Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News, which reported the locker room has not had a significant makeover since the arena opened in 2001.
Owner Mark Cuban even looked outside of the basketball world for inspiration.
“We brought in experts from the casino industry to integrate lighting that stimulates energy and a complete renovation of our ventilation system so we could integrate oxygen and more into the air we deliver into the locker room,” Cuban told the newspaper.
The organization also sought feedback from players about the layout of the locker room and potential amenities. The results? One of the most innovative facilities in sports.
“The locker room is going to be amazing,” Cuban told reporters before personally starting the demolition on the current player lockers. “We didn’t want to just do a locker room. We wanted to do something that should change the template for locker rooms.
“You know me, we geeked out.”
Cuban mentioned ventilation, oxygen, lighting, colors, technology, and facial recognition as factors into the redesign, which will be handled by global design firm Gensler. With the facial recognition technology, Dallas will be able to better secure their locker room and create personalized services, Cuban told the Dallas Morning News.
Each locker will contain an individual safe and tablet dock, with power built into the shelves. A refrigerated cup holder, mounted television screen, and even a shoe drawer will be featured, too.
Other amenities included are a hydrotherapy area for recovery and a high-end dehumidifier to help players fight off fatigue. Cuban expects the locker room to be ready by the team’s first preseason game in October.
