Groundbreaking to Game-Changing: Innovating Spaces for Women in Sports

Growing up Emily Ostertag spent most of her life in the water. Being a competitive swimmer at the University of Wisconsin, she got to see up close and personal just how much women’s facilities were lacking on the collegiate level.

“The facility that I trained in at the University of Wisconsin was windowless and depressing. Not having natural light was awful,” said Ostertag, senior project interior designer at HOK. “For the level of program that we were, it was really underwhelming.”

Now Ostertag works specifically on sporting facilities as an interior designer so other students don’t have to feel the same way she felt practicing in an underfunded space.

In fact, HOK won the project to tear down her old swim facility at the University of Wisconsin which she then got to serve as the head interior designer to build the new facility, The Nicholas Recreation Center or “The Nick.”

With Shield, Ostertag worked on renovating the Kansas State volleyball locker room to create a more open and modern feeling, as well as a more functional space for the players. She specifically wanted to see women’s lockers given the same flashy features that are often added to men’s.

kansas state university volleyball locker room reveal

“I think with locker rooms and lockers, we’re seeing more integration of technology,” said Ostertag. “We’ve been requested to do digital nameplates… Adding both functional lighting and accent or color changing lighting is also commonly requested.”

Seen within the Kansas State volleyball lockers is integrated feature lighting on the top as well as purple lighting on the bottom that matches the Wildcat’s signature colors. Specializations like these allow players to truly own the space, something that Ostertag sees slowly but surely becoming more widely seen in both women’s and men’s spaces.

“I think the focus isn’t on women’s sports because they don’t generate as much revenue,” said Ostertag. “A lot of the time locker room renovations or facility improvements are done based on Title Nine and the requirement to have equal facilities for both men and women.”

Given time, Ostertag hopes to see more focus put on women’s collegiate spaces less because of requirements and more so out of a want to invest in these programs.

securing legitimacy

From a young age, Kristin Byrd knew she loved design, but often felt constricted by the questions she was asked by others.

“I didn’t even realize that you could specialize in sports architecture when I went to school,” said Byrd, design director and architect at Gensler. “All anyone ever asked was, ‘do you want to do residential or commercial?’ but no one told us there is so much more than that.”

Byrd originally started working for HNTB, but once she saw a chance to move to Gensler and focus on sports, she went for it and never looked back.

“I have had really great and varied project opportunities in my career, but I knew on the inside that once sports was an option, that was where I needed to be” said Byrd.

To Byrd, the importance of opening facilities specifically for women lies in the fact that once these teams have greater resources, they become more legitimized to the public. It also allows for issues more specific to women to be addressed within the facilities.

“Building these new and upgraded women’s facilities is fundamental because it starts to raise the bar one team at a time,” said Byrd. “Teams and athletes will start to compare their facilities, which ultimately means many teams will need to level up and start securing more funding. We’re also starting to address women’s specific needs in the ‘sports workplace.’ One great amenity we are starting to see is the desire to have childcare integrated into the training facility itself. This helps to take some of the mental load off of the athlete so they can get back to focusing on their day job.”

With Shield, Byrd is currently working on a locker room renovation for the New Orleans Saints, of which everything is still private. Separately, with Gensler, she lead the design for the San Diego FC Right to Dream Academy.

san diego fc right to dream academy

Just one example of teams gaining more funding and upping their standing is New York Liberty, a WNBA team based in Brooklyn. Completed in the summer of 2021, the renovation was yet another collaboration between Generator Studio and Shield Lockers. For the team, the upgrade was about making sure professional level players have professional level spaces. 

As told by New York Liberty CEO Keia Clarke, the project was made by women, for women.

"A group of world-class athletes deserve a world-class space, and that is precisely what Shawmut and Generator Studios have created with this new locker room," said Clarke. "The Liberty continues to be intentional about uplifting women in all facets of the company and this renovation project is no different."

new york liberty locker room

more women everywhere

Another architect who found her passion from a young age, Megan Rand, has also been a champion of both mixed facilities where men and women play, as well as women focused sporting spaces.

To Rand, creating spaces not only for the athletes but also the fans is a top priority. With sporting events becoming more about the people you are going with and less about the actual outcome of the game, having varied spaces to enjoy these events can be a make or break for the teams. 

With Shield, Rand worked on the expansion and renovation of the University of Utah football stadium and locker room. For her, the project signified bringing ideas together to create something incredible.

“I always say Ken Garff Red Zone at Utah's Rice-Eccles Stadium is pretty high up there for me because there were so many entities involved in that facility,” said Rand, Senior Associate at Populous. “There had been a vision for that stadium expansion for a while and then it turned out really successful because of the new trends we implemented from premium seating to new locker styles. Utah had two undefeated seasons at home after the opening in 2021, which was icing on the cake!”

university of utah football locker room reveal

Throughout her time in sports architecture, Rand has seen more women become a part of not only the design side, but also within the teams staff themselves. Because of this, it is now expected by many teams that there will be a strong female presence within the design team when working on the projects, in order to have an accurate point of view.

While many people think about women players, it can be easy to forget that women coaches and staff need their own space as well.

“We’ve seen an increase in female staff and it's very important to make sure those female staff get treated equally,” said Rand. “This includes female staff lockers, and looking at crossovers in shared spaces, such as a female staff member in a football recovery or sports medicine space.”

Whether you are working on a men’s space or a women’s space, there are a few aspects of equipment and design that will always reign supreme. For Rand, choosing products for spaces that will last and withstand damage is never going to go out of style. Mixing functionality with flair is a goal that almost every designer seeks to find the balance between, even for the small aspects of a space (which we like to focus on).

“Durability is a key point for locker design that's definitely high on equipment manager’s lists. Lockers should be easy to service or repair, withstand a lot of use and offer chances for lots of storage,” said Rand. “A lot of times we look for subtle ways to incorporate personalization into the locker that isn’t for anyone else but the player… I think it’s important to start collaboration in the beginning and build those relationships like the one we have with Shield. The Shield staff has always allowed us to bounce ideas off of them.”

Ultimately, what designers are looking for no matter who they are creating for is a chance to make something unique to the client. For teams that are upgrading their facilities, specifically women’s teams,  it is important to remember that they will be living in these spaces for years to come, so they need to be made with design ideals that will stand the test of time but showcase their branding.

“What we don’t want to do is feel like we are picking out locker parts from a catalog,” said Rand. “It’s important that the manufacturers are willing to try different ideas and not push us into, ‘hey, these are your three design options.’”