When Bengals head coach Zac Taylor glimpsed the new locker room, he not only felt awe but appreciation.
Call it the 30-second rule for the 2020s. All of his players' spaces have been updated in the past two years and provide not only comfort, but convenience.
"The players have to travel no longer than 30 seconds to go from food to the locker room to the training room to the recovery room to the weight room. Which is rare," Taylor said. "I'm very appreciative of ownership really making sure accommodations in all areas are top of the line. I wouldn't change anything."
_Elizabeth Blackburn, the club director of strategy and engagement, is ownership's point person on the project and noted at Tuesday's unveiling it is a nice way to ring in the 25th season in Paycor Stadium. Her major goals were to offer a crisp, modern design matching the uniform overhaul of the past few years along with celebrating the history of the franchise.
Mission accomplished.
Her favorite nod to tradition is the laser-engraved autograph of her great-grandfather on each locker. The signature of Bengals founder Paul Brown is on the handles of the lift-up footlocker storage compartment.
Bengals equipment manager Adam Knollman, looking like a proud new father, is entrusted with the lighting keyboard that offers 10 presets on a tablet in his office, as well as an ability to customize. On Tuesday, he thought he'd leave it on one of the game day settings used for the unveiling and start using the other settings when they come back to work Wednesday.
With the presence of nine fans in each locker and drying and anti-bacterial compartments for helmets, shoulder pads, and shoes, Knollman says the technology adds to the efficiency of his staff.
"It kicks on 10:30 at night and kicks off at 6 a.m. every day," Knollman said. "(The locker room) is everything we wanted. Something functional the guys would enjoy when they come into work every day. This is their office."
Sam Allen, the owner of Longhorn Locker, and his vice president of sales James Weiss, were at the unveiling and reiterated there's no other locker room like it on earth. After conferring with Blackburn's team, their company built the 93 lockers, each with 10,000 parts and an electrical system inspected by a national firm, and were transported by semis to Cincinnati 20 at a time.
"Name a school and we've probably done it. Name an NFL team that's updated and we probably did it," Weiss said.
Longhorn, based in Venus, Texas, did the hometown Cowboys eight years ago. They've recently re-done the Falcons and this summer are working with the Chiefs and Rams. This year they've also put in new locker rooms at the University of Iowa, Texas-El Paso, and University of Pittsburgh.
Blackburn's team of Knollman and director of operations Jeff Brickner have also overseen a new look coaches locker room complete with a furniture overhaul. On the outside wall, Brickner supplied the photo of Paul Brown coaching during a Bengals game and Blackburn supplied the P.B., quote: "Leave as little to chance as possible. Preparation is the key to success."
Entering the locker room from the players' parking lot, the right side of the hallway is covered by an aerial photo from the Bengals' Stripe The Jungle Game win over Buffalo at Paycor on Nov. 5, 2023. Taylor's one-word messages, "Team," "Teammates," "Self," are etched in the hallway's ceiling.
At the entrance from the weight room and recovery room, automatic doors swing open.
