UCLA's Mo Ostin Basketball Center Officially Opens
October 26, 2017 | Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball
Donors, special guests and members of the UCLA men's and women's basketball programs gathered Thursday evening to celebrate the grand opening of the Mo Ostin Basketball Center, a new, state-of-the-art practice facility for the two basketball teams.
Participating in the official ribbon-cutting ceremony were Chancellor Gene Block, Director of Athletics Dan Guerrero, Head Men's Basketball Coach Steve Alford, Head Women's Basketball Coach Cori Close, Mo Ostin, Ann Meyers Drysdale, Nan Wooden and representing Russell and Nina Westbrook, his parents, Russell and Shannon Westbrook.
"Everybody seems to be thanking me, and as a matter of fact, it's probably me who should be thanking you and UCLA for everything that it's done for me," Ostin said. "It really affected my life and helped form me as a person, and anything I can do to give back, I will certainly do."
Thursday's grand opening marked an important step for UCLA Athletics, as the Mo Ostin Basketball Center not only provides the men's and women's basketball teams with vital resources, but also frees up facility access for other programs and student-athletes. With approximately 35,000 gross square feet of space, UCLA's practice facility stands near Pauley Pavilion's southwest corner, along the south end of the Los Angeles Tennis Center and adjacent to the newly-constructed Wasserman Football Center.
"The Mo Ostin Basketball Center is truly a commitment to upholding the prestige of UCLA Basketball, and as I indicated earlier, our student-athletes will be able to benefit from this facility for years to come," Guerrero said.
"Basketball, as we all know, has a special place in athletics and a very special place at UCLA," Block said. "In large part, it's because of Coach Wooden and the values that he imparted on his team and on this university. I think that he would be so proud. This is really going to help our excellence in both our women's and our men's teams."
The Mo Ostin Basketball Center was designed by award-winning architectural design firm Kevin Daly Architects, in partnership with globally acclaimed high-performance design firm AECOM. The Bruins' practice facility features two separate courts – Russell Westbrook Court for the men's team and Ann Meyers Drysdale Court for the women's team. Energy demand from this LEED certified building is minimized throughout the day by the use of north-facing skylights to ensure high levels of glare-free, indirect daylight. Each basketball court has three north-facing skylights with ETFE panels that bring in ample, glare-free natural light. In addition, two natural ventilation intakes are installed in each court to pull fresh air through the courts.
The building also houses the Kevin Love Athletic Performance Center, which is raised over the main entrance, has its own skylights and includes separate offices for the athletic performance staffs of the men's and women's basketball teams.
"I've spent a lot of time with Nan and with the Wooden family, and it's just another building that we're allowed to have Coach Wooden's presence in," Alford said. "A building that is built beyond his passing, and yet you continue to see his influence, and that's a true legacy of a giant, that you can continue to touch lives. This building will do that, and the pyramid of success is right at the top of the steps as you come into this building, as with almost every building on this campus."
"Moving forward, I'm not sure we could have built a top-10 program without this building," Close said. "It has become more and more difficult to recruit at the highest levels without a building of this stature. Add the flavor of Los Angeles in this place, the unique architecture, the honoring of rich history, this building puts us on a whole new level."
UCLA's basketball practice facility also features separate conference rooms for the men's and women's basketball teams that each overlook their respective courts. In addition, the Mo Ostin Basketball Center includes locker rooms for the student-athletes, a film room, an equipment room, a training room, a nutrition center, an alumni locker room and locker rooms for the coaching staffs. Portions of the practice facility's hallways include "By the Numbers" displays and an Under Armour uniform presentation. Adjacent to both courts is a "Champions Plaza" patio with a wall that honors student-athletes from past men's and women's teams.
The Bruins' state-of-the-art facility is named after legendary music industry executive and philanthropist Morris "Mo" Ostin, who generously committed $10 million to the project. Ostin, who holds a B.A. in Economics from UCLA, serves as Chairman Emeritus of Warner Bros. His influence is reflected throughout the building, from a state-of-the-art sound system, acoustics and videoboard to the design of the donor display in the lobby, which was modeled after a sheet of music.
Over his illustrious career, Ostin has been involved with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, The Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Randy Newman, Neil Young, James Taylor, Fleetwood Mac, George Harrison, Paul Simon, Quincy Jones, Madonna, Prince, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Green Day. Ostin was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003 and presented the Grammy Icon Award in 2007 by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. He served at Warner Bros. Records for 32 years, 25 of them as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and later signed on to head the music arm of the entertainment conglomerate DreamWorks SKG.
Donor name recognition space is still available in the Mo Ostin Basketball Center. To learn more, visit UCLABasketballFacility.com.