PHL Anon
Well, at least the Sixers are winning at something. I guess their campaign “Together We Build” was supposed to be taken literally. Get excited about the practice facility that we literally built, and forget that we have an on the court product that lies somewhere between horseshit and an abomination.
Before I get into that whole subject again, let’s talk about the Sixers’ new home, that is “holy shit!” cool. How cool exactly is “holy shit!” cool? Sam Hinkie’s 11 words explaining their vision were music to my damn ears.
“We want it to be the Four Seasons of practice facilities.”
In designing the basketball operations facility we pulled inspiration from the most cutting-edge sports medicine, wellness, and recovery practices from leagues, teams, and sport disciplines across the world. We challenged ourselves to create a 24/7 destination for our players’ physical and mental needs. Two full side-by-side training courts with 10 baskets to shoot on is the heart of the building. Amenities such as an exclusive, covered player’s entrance, a fully-stocked private restaurant, and a dedicated concierge will encourage year-round visits to the training facility, allowing our players to focus on the everyday training of their body and mind.”
All of that sounds great, but one other indicator as to how seriously the Sixers are taking this facility? In the past year, the Bulls, Timberwolves, and Raptors have all built or are finishing building new facilities. The total cost of those three facilities? $70 million. That’s right, the Sixers’ facility will come in at $80 million. The Sixers are spending $10 million more than three other teams… combined. Oh, and the Nets are building a new facility in Brooklyn – you know, one of the most expensive places to live in America. Their facility costs $50 million. So, yeah. I think it’s safe to say the Sixers are taking this new facility very seriously.
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Hinkie has been said to have visited more than a dozen college and NBA facilities, soccer centers in Europe, the training facilities for Manchester United and Manchester City in England, the United State Olympic Committee complex in Colorado Springs and the Australian and Austrian institutes for sport to gain insight and inspiration into the Sixers new home.
One of the things that is good to hear is that they are looking into ways to use the facility to help in the prevention of player injuries. Hopefully it’s not too late for Embiid!
There’ll be less and less running on hardwood floors and more and more how do you train your lungs and heart and the like without putting as much pressure on your joints and the water is a big part of that. In the next 15 years; What won’t change? Our willingness to shoot and practice and our interest in natural light. What might change? Everything else might over a decade or two. We don’t know so we’re trying to make it flexible.”
So, what is the hope in building this mansion from the sports gods?
We challenged ourselves to create a 24/7 destination for our players’ physical and mental needs.”
Now, let’s just hope they succeed in this. With the way things have been going, I expect that the entire place will collapse under faulty beams the day the team moves in. But heres to hoping that this actually is what it sounds like, and that it can actually help in drawing in top free agent talent.
Oh, and did they build a private driving tunnel in and out? We can’t have potential free agents taking a scenic drive through the lovely streets of Camden on the way in.
H/T to USA Today and CSN Philly
And with that being said, let’s go Sixers. Another loss of course remember gotta keep pace with the Lakers.