SEATTLE — Shortly ahead of the April 28 start of training camp, the Seattle Storm unveiled their new center for basketball performance Thursday, inviting media to tour the practice facility and attached office space.
The Storm, who had spent the past 15 seasons practicing in a rented gym in Royal Brougham Pavilion on the campus of nearby Seattle Pacific University, join the Las Vegas Aces as the second WNBA team with a dedicated practice facility solely for their use. The Phoenix Mercury plan to open the third such facility later this year.
“Here, everyone who works for the Storm knows they’re home,” co-owner Ginny Gilder told ESPN. “There’s a certain sense of belonging that brings that we never had before.”
In contrast to the Aces and Mercury, who converted existing buildings for their use, the Storm’s performance center is a new building across the street from the team’s former business offices in Seattle’s Interbay neighborhood. The Storm’s design features natural light in the two practice courts, as well as a team dining room and the aquatic room for recovery.
Co-owner Lisa Brummel,…
