When Serena Williams was young, she visited the Nike campus in Beaverton, Oregon. She came away from the trip feeling inspired—not just by the cool tech and cutting-edge athlete research, but even by the buildings themselves.
Sports greats including LeBron James, John McEnroe, Pete Sampras, Michael Jordan, Mia Hamm, Tiger Woods and more have been honored by Nike over the years, with their names adorning buildings throughout the sprawling campus.
Now, the 23-time Grand Slam winner and former world No. 1 has become the latest icon to join the coveted list, as Nike has announced the completion of the new Serena Williams Building.
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“The whole building takes your breath away. Every element, everywhere you go, is an opportunity to be inspired,” Serena said in a statement. “I hope this building encourages people to bring out the best of themselves and to dream bigger than they thought possible.”
Bigger is definitely the key word for the Serena Williams Building: at one million square feet, the equivalent of 140 tennis courts, it’s definitely the largest office building at Nike World Headquarters to date. The structure houses world-class labs for product testing and development, showrooms, workspaces and more.
But the real highlights are the personal touches throughout, including a 140-seat Olympia Theater, named after Serena’s daughter, and an outdoor tennis court dubbed the “East Compton Hills Country Club”—a nod to the old Williams family joke of calling their local Compton courts a “country club”. White roses, one of Serena’s favorites, are planted throughout the main plaza.
More on Serena’s new Nike building, including an aerial view of the sprawling space, on this edition of The Break:
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