Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Winning Locker Room Design

  • 11/01/13
Winning Locker Room Design

Wenger provided the University of Minnesota with easy-to-clean lockers that also give players a place to relax and unwind after a game or practice.

“Our previous lockers looked outdated and it was also time to update their functionality,” says Andy Harris, assistant director of Football Equipment at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

“We wanted a locker room that gives the ‘wow factor’ every time players walk in,” explains Harris.

“Wenger did an outstanding job translating our goals into reality,” recalls Harris. These unique lockers include several new features developed specifically for this project. Ventilation ducts integrated into each locker’s foot locker and topper unit are tied into the main HVAC system to accelerate equipment drying.

Sanitation is a “huge issue” for locker rooms, according to Harris. Drying out everything in a timely manner is important.

Cleaning the lockers is easy — all wooden surfaces feature an antimicrobial, polyester laminate finish that makes wiping them down simple and quick. This finish material prevents bacteria and viruses from penetrating into the wood, helping reduce the spread of MRSA, colds or flu.

Aesthetically, the university’s maroon and gold colors are incorporated throughout the locker design. A padded seat, which doubles as the footlocker lid to help conserve valuable floor space, is also a GearBoss first.

To display player information or photos, each locker includes a built-in digital picture frame, enabling a player to customize his own locker’s appearance. Accent lighting provides visual highlights for certain locker elements, including an etched-glass door enclosing the topper unit that holds helmet and shoulder pads.

Harris says the locker room has become a comfortable place for players to relax. He concludes, “With the locker room’s open design and more locker space, everyone just feels more like part of the team.”

www.wengercorp.com

This article originally appeared in the College Planning & Management November 2013 issue of Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • Esports are Growing in Popularity

    Video games and esports are a popular social hobby, and it’s one that’s accessible to a wide variety of physical ability levels. Some esport student-athletes have started to earn scholarship opportunities, and high schools are beginning to form teams equipped with the same degree of resources as their physical sports teams. However, the two have very different needs.

  • Phoenix High School Completes First Phase of Campus Renovations

    Metro Tech High School, part of the Phoenix Union High School District (PXU) in Phoenix, Ariz., recently announced the completion of the first stage of a campus renovation project, according to a news release. The school reopened a series of public-facing business operations spaces including credit union, daycare, floral, cosmetology, and culinary services. It also includes new CTE learning spaces for the school’s nursing assistant, pharmacy, and sports medicine programs.

  • University of Rochester to Break Ground on New Student Life Center

    The University of Rochester in Rochester, N.Y., recently began construction on a new Student Life building, according to a news release. The first floor will contain campus-wide gathering, program, and rehearsal space; the second floor will play home to the Greenbaum Center for Jewish Life.

  • DLR Group Announces New Mid-Atlantic Higher Education Leader

    Integrated design firm DLR Group recently announced that it has promoted Principal Shawn Gaither, AIA, LEED AP, to the role of higher education leader in the Mid-Atlantic, according to a news release. Gaither has served with the firm for more than 20 years, most recently as the national higher education business development leader.