Spacesaver Specialists is key to making the new Duck’s Equipment Room a work of Art!
The Ducks’ rebuilt equipment room utilizes space in a way not previously done in college athletics, while at the same time providing visual fireworks that will catch the eye of student-athletes and fans alike.
The ingenious helmet wall, located in a room called the Armory, has the ability to display numerous helmets worn by the UO football team. But the hidden treasure is that the wall opens up into shelving that has room to store several hundred helmets, as well as facemasks and other parts. The Armory is also a helmet construction workshop with overhead pneumatic drills and easily accessible components, meaning a NASCAR-like repair or rebuild of a helmet is now possible.
Overall, the new equipment room has 2.5 miles of shelving, and makes the most of the area’s 19-foot ceilings through the use of a customized shelving system built by Spacesaver Specialists, Inc. The 16-foot shelves that slide on a system of rails are the tallest, most distinctive customized system Spacesaver Specialists, Inc. has ever built for an athletic equipment room.
The new equipment room not only houses football gear, but also baseball, lacrosse, soccer and acrobatics and tumbling.
There are also lift systems for the storage of the equipment room’s laundry baskets, as well as for the trunks that the equipment staff pack for each road football game. The laundry facility, called the Pond, has also been upgraded to allow equipment staff to complete up to 500 pounds of laundry at once.
“Previously, our staff was working out of multiple storage locations,” said director of equipment operations Aaron Wasson. “This new space will streamline our equipment operation, allowing us to service the student-athletes and staff in a much more efficient way, while also highlighting the unique Nike product Oregon is known for.”
The sizzle of the equipment room is a display area that features a wall of shoes, gloves and uniforms. Student-athletes can step into a sunken alcove where a one-of-kind mirror will digitally display their likeness in a variety of Oregon uniforms. Down the hall in the Haberdashery, there is an oversized armchair, complete with web foot legs – an Oregon spin on the traditional claw foot legs – with “fighting Ducks” attached to the ends of the arms, where student-athletes can test out the latest footwear offerings from the equipment room.
“Our hope was to recreate a Niketown-like atmosphere, with bright lighting and a lot of energy to showcase all of the unique features of our uniforms and other equipment,” Wasson said.
As with the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex, DAF donors and season ticket holders will have access to tours in the future.
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