re: New Practice Facilty Open and Holiday is in Town

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“I’ve been smiling since I walked in,” Pelicans forward Lance Thomas said. “This is really a world-class facility. We’re just excited to be in here. A gym like this, people are going to have to kick players out of it (to get them to go home), because it’s so nice.”

... In addition to the structure’s considerable amenities – there’s even a barber’s chair inside the locker room – an invaluable aspect of the move to Metairie is that the facility is exclusively for the Pelicans. Since moving from Charlotte in 2002, New Orleans had practiced at the Alario Center in Westwego, a state-owned multi-purpose facility 10 miles south across the Mississippi River.

After the franchise changed its nickname to the Gulf Coast region-appropriate “Pelicans” in April, players believe that having their own building has helped make the team’s new era feel even more tangible.

“It’s really starting to feel like ‘Pelicans basketball’ with the new colors and everything having that name on it now,” Thomas said. “Being able to have all of this space that’s just ours, it makes us embrace it even more.”

...Holiday immediately called the building one of the best in the NBA. The 76ers practice at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, sharing the college’s Activities Center gym for part of the year.

“This is day-and-night better,” Holiday said. “It really invites you to want to come in and work on your game.”

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