Innovative center will blend research, sports medicine, healthcare and training
ATLANTA—The Atlanta Hawks Basketball Club and Emory Healthcare have announced plans to partner and build a first-of-its-kind training and sports medicine center in Brookhaven, Georgia. HOK will be the lead architect for the 90,000-sq.-ft, privately funded facility, which will serve as the team’s official practice site and house its basketball operations.
Expected to break ground this summer and open in the fall of 2017, the state-of-the-art training center will feature the most advanced technology in sports medicine and athletic care.
“By blending research, sports medicine, healthcare and training into one building, the Atlanta Hawks and Emory Healthcare will change the way the industry approaches athletic training and injury prevention,” said George Heinlein, a regional director of HOK’s Sports + Recreation + Entertainment practice. “We have brought together HOK’s multidisciplinary leaders in healthcare, science and technology, and sports facility design to elevate the training experience and create a new model for professional and collegiate athletics.”
The Hawks’ new practice facility will be the NBA’s first to be located within a sports medicine center, allowing for immediate treatment and on-site access to high-tech equipment such as the 3 Tesla MRI scanner, which provides fast, high quality diagnoses for soft tissue and bone bruise injuries. Emory will use approximately 30,000 square feet to offer comprehensive preventative and rehabilitative treatment and sports performance training.
“When we became owners, one of our top priorities was to provide the resources necessary to build a world-class training facility—a key element of being a first-class franchise and elite basketball program. We are thrilled with this partnership with Emory to develop a new facility that will revolutionize how other NBA teams approach integrating sports medical technology within their own basketball training centers,” said Tony Ressler, Principal Owner of the Atlanta Hawks. “The ability to partner with a local institution in Emory, which is a worldwide leader in the medical community and shares our vision and passion for excellence and enriching Atlanta, coupled with our architectural partner HOK, is particularly exciting. In addition, we are proud that this facility will go beyond benefitting just our players, but will also be a valuable sports medicine resource available to the entire community.”
Sports medicine offerings will include 3D motion capture, force plates to measure joint stress and on-site blood/sweat testing, and analysis for nutritional deficits and markers vital for the creation of individualized health and recovery plans. A dedicated recovery area for cryotherapy, sensory deprivation and in-ground hydrotherapy will be on-site.
“This strategic partnership will enable two outstanding organizations to create a new vision for sports medicine care and research for athletes at the highest levels of their game,” said Scott D. Boden, MD, director of the Emory Orthopaedics & Spine Center and chief medical officer of the Emory University Orthopaedics & Spine Hospital. “We will translate this knowledge to our college, high school and weekend athletes.”
“Within our basketball program, we place a great emphasis on player development, as improving each player within our system is critical to our team’s collective success,” said Mike Budenholzer, head coach and president of the Hawks’ basketball operations. “The foundation of that development is ensuring the peak health and conditioning of our players and providing each of them with the coaching, resources and environment to develop to the best of their ability.”
With the goal of bringing a more data-driven approach to understanding athlete movement and development for performance optimization, the facility will offer training services from P3. Founded in 2005 by Dr. Marcus Elliott, a Harvard-trained physician, P3 is a premier training service for elite athletes and a world leader in applied sports science. Current Hawks Kyle Korver and Paul Millsap have used P3’s services throughout their careers.
HOK has a history of successful work in Atlanta. The firm recently designed the award-winning Porsche Cars North America Experience Center and Headquarters and is designing the new Solis Hotel at Two Porsche Drive. HOK also is designing Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the new home for the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons and MLS’ Atlanta United FC, and is leading the joint venture designing a $200 million improvement to the domestic passenger terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
HOK’s Sports + Recreation + Entertainment practice has expertise in the design of training facilities, arenas, stadiums, ballparks and recreation centers. The group plans and designs world-class sports complexes that are the centerpieces of successful, vibrant districts. For this project, HOK’s Sports, Recreation + Entertainment facility specialists will collaborate with experts from its Healthcare and Science + Technology groups.
HOK is a global design, architecture, engineering and planning firm. Through a network of 24 offices worldwide, HOK provides design excellence and innovation to create places that enrich people’s lives and help clients succeed. DesignIntelligence consistently ranks HOK as a leader in sustainable, high-performance design and technology innovation.
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