South Bend, Indianna
Spacesaver teams up with Notre Dame football
Spacesaver helped Notre Dame Football triple its storage capacity and turn its equipment area into a showpiece.
Notre Dame’s football equipment room is a point of pride for the football program and the university as a whole, but it wasn’t always the organized and attractive space that it is today. Before their major renovation, plastic tubs filled with gear and equipment were stacked around the room and even on the countertop. “There was just so much wasted space,” said Ryan Grooms, Head Football Equipment Manager for the University of Notre Dame. “It really wasn’t functional for us.”
Grooms was familiar with Spacesaver from his previous position with the University of Minnesota, so he knew that mobile shelving could potentially double the football team’s storage capacity within the same space.
"We have turned this into a recruiting area,” said Grooms. “We are now able to bring recruits in and show off what we did. We really turned this into a showpiece."
- Ryan Grooms, Head Football Equipment Manager for the University of Notre Dame
Storage Playbook
Download for a comprehensive look at football equipment storage solutions.
Storage Playbook
Download for a comprehensive look at football equipment storage solutions.
The Gold Standard of Equipment Rooms
Today’s equipment is better organized and visible, which makes inventory and maintenance easier. The room itself has become a showpiece for the university.
The compact storage systems all feature custom graphics that showcase Notre Dame football, from close-ups of the team’s helmets to an aerial shot of the stadium. The Spacesaver mechanical assist system handles were sent off to the helmet company that provides the team’s game day helmets to be dipped in the same gold paint as the helmets.
These custom features create a one-of-a-kind experience for the students, faculty, staff, and players. “We have turned this into a recruiting area,” said Grooms, “We are now able to bring recruits in and show off what we did. We really turned this into a showpiece.”
Turning a vision into reality
Grooms approached the local Authorized Spacesaver Representative with a hand sketch of how he wanted the room to look.
The local design consultants worked with Grooms to provide four mechanical assist mobile systems throughout the existing space. One large system works in tandem with static shelving along the exterior walls to hold everything used during practice or when players are out on the field on game day. This includes items like shoulder pads, t-shirts, socks, underwear, leg pads, cleats, and running shoes.
Another compact storage system stores equipment assigned to specific players. In the old room’s design, each player was assigned one shelf, but now there are six compartments available per player. This extra storage space helps preparation for practice and game days run much more smoothly.
One of the compact storage units is at counter height, and it provides storage as well as a place to fold the seemingly unending stream of laundry that’s generated by the team. Before the renovation, staff would bring large tables into the equipment room to provide space for the student equipment managers to fold clothes. Now 15 students can be folding at one time using this area, which doubles as workspace and storage space. The system is topped with custom-designed quartz tops that include an inlay of the Notre Dame logo and the words “Irish Football” into the surface material. Under the countertops, Spacesaver shelving is used for small parts storage and Hamilton Sorter doors and drawers are used to conceal pull-out trash bins.
A Commitment to Excellence
We’ll help ensure your program’s commitment to excellence is backed up by gear that’s always organized, accessible, and at the ready.
A Commitment to Excellence
We’ll help ensure your program’s commitment to excellence is backed up by gear that’s always organized, accessible, and at the ready.
"We were able to triple our storage space. That was our goal the whole way."
- Ryan Grooms, Head Football Equipment Manager for the University of Notre Dame
New layout triples storage capacity
A fourth mechanical assist mobile system is installed in a separate room and is used entirely for helmet storage. This room is also where student workers store their personal items in Spacesaver lockers.
The storage capacity of the equipment room was dramatically increased through the installation of the four Spacesaver mobile systems and static shelving.
“Where before we only had four shelves, we now have nine carriages, and we were able to triple our storage space,” said Grooms. “I knew that going into the project and that was our goal the whole way.”
