Now the Los Angeles Lakers will finally have a court of their own. The El Segundo City Council has granted unanimous approval of a new state-of-the-art training facility and exhibition venue for the NBA team, just one block north of the home it shares with he Los Angeles Kings at the Toyota Sports Center. The two-story, 122,000-square-foot facility is expected to open in spring 2017 at 710 N. Nash St. in Campus El Segundo.
“We’re sort of like the resident who’s been living in an apartment and is finally going to own his own home. We’ve never built anything,” said Tim Harris, chief operating officer of the Lakers.
The $80 million facility on 5 acres will not only house a double basketball court for Lakers practice and D-Fenders home games, two half-courts, a training area, team area, atrium, and courtyard but it also will serve as the team’s corporate headquarters.
Harris said the new facility was a necessity to bring the team in line with today’s recruiting standards and give the players a second home.
Before the year 2000, it was OK for the team to be nomadic — bouncing from space to space, Harris said. But, the sport and standards have evolved, he noted.
“What’s acceptable for a training center has changed,” he said, adding that players and the NBA expect teams to provide high-quality nutrition, weight rooms, video-watching facilities and a community space.
“Now you need so much more,” Harris said. “We have to provide players with a second home where they can grow and extend their career.”
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