Sporting News: Inside the Rocket's Facilities

Inside the Rocket's Facilities

Jeff Van Gundy took over as the Rockets' coach June 11, and shortly thereafter, he realized he was way behind. The season would open in 4 1/2 months, and the final touches still were being put on the team's new arena, the Toyota Center. It had been designed without Van Gundy's input, and now he wanted some changes.

"I think that if you give your players maximum comfort, they will give you maximum effort," Van Gundy says.

That approach is visible all around the Rockets, who, along with the Mavericks, now have the best facilities in the league, thanks to the demands of Van Gundy and the willingness of owner Les Alexander to meet them.

In the summer, when strength and conditioning coach Anthony Falsone wanted two $15,000 Woodway treadmills, he figured he wouldn't get the expense approved. He talked with Van Gundy, who asked, "Are they the best treadmills? Can you demonstrate they are the best?" Falsone said yes, and Van Gundy said he would handle it. The team now has four new Woodways.

Other Toyota Center highlights: a state-of-the-art video scouting room; a home locker room that is about four times bigger than the one at the Compaq Center, the Rockets' old arena, and a chef who is brought in to prepare breakfast, lunch and dinner for the players.

Van Gundy and the Rockets swung open the players-only, no-access doors for the Sporting News just hours before an early December game against the Trail Blazers.