ORLANDO - Not long after the Milwaukee Bucks opened their state-of-the-art practice facility in 2017, Orlando Magic CEO Alex Martins and President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman flew up to Wisconsin for an in-person tour. They were extremely impressed by what they saw and figured it would help the Bucks develop their young talent and strengthen their franchise.
Almost four years to the day since that training center opened in Milwaukee, that inkling Martins and Weltman had undoubtedly proved true as the Bucks are now NBA champions for the first time since 1971.
On Wednesday morning, just hours after Milwaukee won a title-clinching Game 6 over the Phoenix Suns, the Magic celebrated a major milestone in the construction of their own 130,000-square-foot training facility that is slated to open next spring and will feature an array of high-tech amenities. The final steel beam, signed by several members of the Magic including Martins, Weltman, Vice President of Ownership Engagement Ryan DeVos, new Head Coach Jamahl Mosley and forward Jonathan Isaac, was raised and dispensed onto the partially-constructed AdventHealth Training Center located one block from Amway Center on a nearly four-acre site at South Division Avenue and West Central Boulevard.
“It’s an exciting day. It’s another milestone in what will be the premier training facility in the NBA and perhaps even all of sports,” Martins said. “It’s incredibly important to have these world-class facilities for your current players but also to attract free agents. We have found as we toured all of the facilities that we did a couple of years ago in preparing for our facility that teams have been able to attract top talent to their organizations when those players know that they have the best equipment, the best training and the best of facilities to be able to keep themselves healthy, to recoup and rehab from injury and also to elongate their careers. And that’s what this facility is going to be all about.”
The design of the facility combined with the training features is going to help Magic players both physically and mentally. Included will be two practice courts with six baskets, an over 8,000-foot state-of-the-art weight room, a float pod, an altitude chamber, a full body cryotherapy chamber, sauna and steam rooms, recovery and massage rooms, aquatic spaces, an outdoor turf, a large kitchen and dining area, and much more.
Present on Wednesday to commemorate this latest phase in the construction process were members of AdventHealth, one of the Magic’s “Champion of the Community” partners that represent an elite tier of brands who are committed to the Central Florida community by supporting programming that makes a direct impact on the lives of those that call Orlando home. Randy Haffner, president and CEO of AdventHealth’s Central Florida Division, believes this new training center will be a game-changer for not just the Magic’s coaches and players but the entire community.
“This is such a growing community and to have this type of a world-class facility that is so capable of not only offering what is needed for our athletes but is what is needed for the entirety of our community is something that we celebrate today,” he said.
AdventHealth’s 33,300-square-foot medical center – designed for elite athletes, as well as youth athletes and weekend warriors – will provide world-class, multi-discipline medicine with a focus on whole-person health and sports science at the facility. Services will include orthopedics, primary care, sports medicine, imaging, rehabilitation and sports performance. Patients will also have access to AdventHealth’s network of sports-trained gastroenterologists, cardiologists, sleep, psychology and nutrition experts.
The Magic and AdventHealth are working with minority-owned and-women-owned local business enterprises (MWBE) during construction. They awarded $17 million of design and construction to 33 MWBE firms representing approximately 32 percent of awarded opportunities, which is over the city's recommended 24 percent MWBE participation. The facility has been designed by HOK, with Balfour Beatty servicing as the construction manager.
The Magic's mission is to be world champions on and off the court, delivering legendary moments every step of the way. Adding a brand new training center will benefit the team and the community as a whole, which is precisely what the DeVos family had in mind when discussions about this facility began a few years ago.
“Our hope is that this facility is even more than a world-class training center and becomes a true ‘win-win’ for the community and the team,” Magic Chairman Dan DeVos said. “We’re dedicated to two things – building a championship organization for the long-term and being an accountable and invested community partner with local residents. Health and wellness are so important to all of us and we’re eager to see this center contribute to meaningful outcomes on and off the court.”
“We are excited to watch this facility come to life,” Ryan DeVos added. “It’s truly incredible. I know it’s really going to propel this team and this organization to win it. That’s the goal. Incredibly thankful to AdventHealth and their entire team for their continued partnership from the beginning…We are committed to the community. It’s in our lifeblood. I grew up with it for 30 years. It’s fun to be in Orlando and really a part of the community.”
Echoing that sentiment is Weltman, who is grateful to work under an ownership group like the DeVos’ who always go above and beyond to provide the resources the team needs to succeed.
“A sincere thanks to the DeVos family and AdventHealth for undertaking and developing this project,” he said. “It truly is going to be a game-changing way of working for our basketball team and there aren’t many organizations in the league that can actually develop and see this come to fruition, a project this big and do it this well, this quickly.”
One of the many things when going through the interview process that intrigued Mosley, named the 15th head coach in Magic history earlier this month, was this new training center. Just hearing about it got him pumped about what it will mean for the players on this team as they continue to grow and jell.
“It was so exciting because you just see that as part of the development and growth and care that is put into making sure each one of these guys reach their full potential, basically on and off the court,” he said.
Another big fan after seeing the renderings and learning about all the features that will be inside is Isaac, who has worked with AdventHealth on many projects since the Magic drafted him in 2017. He has seen first-hand how a joint mission like the one the Magic and AdventHealth have makes a huge difference in improving the health of so many people in the community.
“I’m really glad. I feel really blessed to be a part of this,” said the 23-year-old, who continues to make tremendous progress in his recovery from the knee injury he suffered a year ago. “I love being able to work with them (AdventHealth), with the team and outside with the things that we have been able to do. I appreciate them very much. I appreciate their outlook on health and the way they make it about not just the body but the mind and the soul as well.”