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Just a few years ago, LeBron James opened up his own school in his hometown of Akron, Ohio. Now, he's opening up an innovation center with one of the biggest brands in sports, Nike. Located at Nike's global headquarters in Oregon, the 750,000 square foot LeBron James Innovation Center features an NBA sized basketball court, soccer field and track. The center also includes an 84,000 square foot space for sports research and more than 800 pieces of sports science equipment.
“Over the course of my career and my time here at Nike, for all of this to come together is surreal. Sometimes it doesn’t make sense to me, but I’m definitely honored. Having my name on the Innovation building feels very fitting because I’m always trying to figure out ways I can continue to innovate and continue to break the timeline of what they say is your prime," James said, according to Sports Illustrated.
Nike and LeBron James are not only focusing on the sports science aspect of the facility. They're both also interested in having a positive impact on the environment, which is why the center uses 100% renewable electricity.
“We hosted him in the NSRL at that time. We started showing him our capabilities, we took some basic measurements on him at the time. And if you look at how we’ve evolved and how he has evolved over the last two decades, our paths have really been in parallel," Nike's Matt Nurse told Complex.
The launch of the center vaults LeBron James into rare territory. Serena Williams and Michael Jordan are the only other athletes to receive their own center at Nike.
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