Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Ben DuBose

Rockets offer first look at $70-million practice complex, which opens in 2024

Rockets Tilman Fertitta Jonathan Feigen Ime Udoka Adam Spolane Lachard Binkley Rafael Stone Danielle Lerner Gretchen Sheirr Michael Shapiro

On Tuesday, Rockets owner Tilman J. Fertitta and the Fertitta family invited media members to an early preview tour of the team’s new training center, which is scheduled for completion in summer 2024.  The facility is located minutes north from The Post Oak Hotel, which is also owned by Fertitta on Houston’s I-610 West Loop.

Since opening Toyota Center in 2003, the Rockets have trained on a single practice court inside the building. Fertitta, who bought the franchise in October 2017, has stated a desire on multiple occasions to build a new facility with multiple practice courts.

As such, Tuesday’s tour offered a first look as construction approaches the halfway mark of its scheduled 14-month process. The facility’s framework was shown, including locations and layout for dual-courts; locker room, treatment, and conditioning areas; workspace for the front office and coaching staff; and various other amenities.

Artist renderings for the final vision were on display. As part of an introductory press conference in April for new head coach Ime Udoka, Fertitta estimated the total cost at $70 million.

“We’re the only team that has their own private 767 [aircraft] to fly around in,” Fertitta said in response to a question about spending. “We’re building a $70-million practice facility, right now.”

Because it remains an active construction site, closed-toed shoes and long pants were required for attendees, with further personal protective equipment (PPE) and safety gear distributed on site.

Gretchen Sheirr, president of business operations for the Rockets, guided the tour. Once completed, Fertitta addressed media members and answered several questions regarding the facility.

Here’s our roundup of the sights, scenes, and what was learned. At 75,000 square feet, the Rockets are tripling the size of their current Toyota Center training infrastructure, according to the team.

Dec. 12 new practice facility tour

 

 

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Coachella 2025 has unveiled its full lineup with Post Malone, Green Day and Lady Gaga
Green Day, Post Malone and Lady Gaga have been announced as headliners for Coachella 2025.
BANG Premier
BANG Premier
People around world associate rolled R with a jagged line, study finds
Speakers of 28 languages linked sound and shape at least 88% of the time, in ‘strongest case of sound symbolism to date’
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
8 revelations from Cher's memoir
Cher details some of the famous people she grew up with and the desperation she felt being married to Sonny Bono
Salon
Salon
Trump's Grammatical Time Machine
The president-elect uses conditional grammar to craft self-fulfilling speculative historical fiction.
Reason
Reason
Duct-taped banana artwork sells at auction for almost £5m to crypto entrepreneur
Justin Sun purchased a certificate of authenticity that gives him the authority to duct-tape a banana to a wall and call it “Comedian.”
Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Banana Taped To A Wall Sells For $6.2 Mn In New York
A fresh banana taped to a wall -- a provocative work of conceptual art by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan -- was bought for $6.2 million on Wednesday by a cryptocurrency entrepreneur at a New York auction, Sotheby's announced in a statement.
International Business Times
International Business Times
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.
Download on the AppStore Get it on Google Play