Jazz practice facility renovation to keep players happy, healthy in Utah


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SALT LAKE CITY — You've probably seen the Jazz's biggest construction project: the $125 million renovation of Vivint Arena that will modernize the 25-year-old arena. But Jazz players and coaches will probably spend more time in another important building that's being renovated this summer.

That honor goes to the other construction project going on for the Jazz: a new and expanded Zions Bank Basketball Center that will double the size of the current space and give the Jazz what they hope is the best practice facility in basketball.

For players, the flow of the facility will be completely different. They'll enter in a new player entrance from a newly covered parking lot and immediately be greeted by a kitchen and nutrition station where the team chefs will have whatever healthy pre-practice fuel they need. After grabbing that, they'll enter the new locker room, where they'll get dressed for work. The team trainers and strength and conditioning personnel will be located between the locker room and the court, making sure that everyone is adequately prepared to go out on the floor.

But while making the process efficient for players on game and practice days was a priority, the Jazz also hope players will want to stick around the facility whenever possible. That's why they're creating a "living room" for the players, with a gaming area (a tip of the cap to free agent Gordon Hayward, though he's certainly not the only Jazz player who likes to game) and plenty of big furniture for players to relax. They're putting in a barber chair so the players can get trimmed whenever they want. There will be an outdoor recreational court so that players' kids can play outside while the grownups are working inside.

Jazz practice facility renovation to keep players happy, healthy in Utah

The two atriums in the facility, with installed waterfalls and lounge areas, will try to help players and staff get some natural light during the day.

Jazz practice facility renovation to keep players happy, healthy in Utah

The idea is to not only keep the players around their practice facility so that they can work on their games whenever possible, but to keep the players happy as well. The Jazz have noticed that facilities play a big role in college recruiting and figure that having league-leading amenities for players in Utah can't hurt with free agent pushes either.

They planned the facility with lots of input from head coach Quin Snyder, who believes that "what players really want is a family room, and they want a kitchen, and they want something that feels like home," according to Jazz president Steve Starks.

And once the players are here, keeping them healthy is the next step — something the Jazz have struggled with over the last couple of seasons. The Jazz hope a new hydrotherapy pool, with an underwater treadmill, will help.

In addition, they're adding a number of P3-esque measurement tools and training apparatuses to help players develop their bodies and athleticism to the max. That includes a three-lane track in Jazz blue, green and yellow.

Jazz practice facility renovation to keep players happy, healthy in Utah

The strength and conditioning space will be the largest in the NBA, Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey told reporters.

Jazz practice facility renovation to keep players happy, healthy in Utah

The other big impetus for this construction is merging the business and basketball operations centers for the Jazz. Nearly all of the arena's full-time employees are being permanently displaced by the new clubs and suites added to the building. The new ZBBC will put Snyder's, Starks' and Lindsey's offices in the same building. They say that will help coordinate when making big, quick decisions, like during the NBA draft or in free agency.

Construction has already begun, and the Jazz want to move key executives into their offices by the end of June. They want all of the player areas to be completed by September, when the players come back to Utah for optional workouts. In the meantime, most of the Jazz's current facility is undisturbed, so that the Jazz can conduct draft workouts and still have a space for players who would like to work with Jazz coaches during the summer.

"This is going to be the preeminent performance center in the league," Snyder told reporters at the end of the season. "We want that because that's the best way for our guys to get better."

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Andy Larsen

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