Golden State Warriors Practice Facility

Populous transformed the former Golden State Warriors training facility in Oakland and delivered a new state-of-the-art locker room at Chase Center for the Golden State Valkyries, the Bay Area’s newest professional basketball franchise. Working closely with the organization, the design team developed a bold experiential graphics program that celebrates the team’s identity while establishing a distinct sense of place.

Agency

Populous

Practice Area

Client

Golden State Valkyries

Industry

The Challenge

With the Golden State Valkyries brand identity still unreleased to the public, Populous faced the unique challenge of translating an emerging franchise into a fully realized physical experience. Working from early marketing materials, brand strategy, and the organization’s vision, the team was tasked with interpreting the Valkyries’ ethos in bold, immersive, and unexpected ways while helping define what the brand could become beyond traditional applications.

The project required creating an environment that would resonate deeply with athletes and staff—one that felt authentic, empowering, and uniquely their own from day one. Compounding the challenge, the Oakland training facility had previously been branded for the Golden State Warriors, requiring a complete transformation of the space. Every touchpoint needed to shed the legacy of the former tenant and establish a new identity that reflected the strength, ambition, and cultural relevance of the Valkyries.

Project Vision

Inspired by the strength and symbolism of the Valkyrie warrior heroine, the graphics package combines powerful imagery, dynamic storytelling, and immersive environmental branding throughout the facility. The design draws equally from the urban grit, cultural diversity, and creative energy of the Bay Area, creating a visual experience that is both aspirational for the athletes and authentically local.

A dynamic mural integrates Valkyrie helmets, wings, and Bay Bridge references. Black, violet, and gold anchor the court as a backdrop for the team’s identity.

Populous

The locker room is organized by the Valkyries’ V geometry, directing movement through the space. Violet lighting and player names with sword motifs reinforce unity and mythology.

Garry Belinsky

Symmetrical entry spaces combine reflective metals, stone, and warm wood ceilings. Tone-on-tone graphics and light-wash illustrations introduce brand storytelling through subtle pattern and material contrast.

Garry Belinsky

“Welcome to Ballhalla” introduces a graphic concept merging Valkyrie wings with the Bay Bridge, connecting the team’s mythology with the geography of San Francisco and Oakland.

Populous

Dark marble surfaces and engraved messaging embed the idea of “writing our own myth” into the architecture, with player rosters highlighted against custom patterned wall coverings.

Garry Belinsky + Populous

Design + Execution

Populous Brand Activation embraced a design strategy centered on larger-than-life graphic interventions that were intentionally bold, dramatic, and impactful. These immersive brand moments transformed everyday spaces into powerful expressions of the Valkyries’ identity, creating an environment that athletes could feel as much as see. By amplifying the team’s visual language through oversized imagery, dynamic storytelling, and commanding environmental graphics, the design sought to inspire a competitive mindset while fostering a strong emotional connection to the franchise. The goal was not only to immerse athletes and staff in the brand experience, but also to cultivate a sense of ownership, pride, and loyalty that would help define the culture of the organization from its inception.

Dark architectural surfaces promote focus while controlled violet accents introduce energy and identity, balancing high-performance training requirements with moments of brand expression.

Garry Belinsky

Player Wing imagery subtly emerges through layered patterning and materials creating a calm environment for recovery and preparation while extending the Valkyries’ visual language into wellness spaces.

Garry Belinsky

  1. The practice court balances focus and expression. Warm wood flooring anchors play while deep blacks, violet accents, and murals create controlled brand expression.

    Garry Belinsky

  2. The locker room is organized by the Valkyries’ V geometry, directing movement through the space. Violet lighting and player names with sword motifs reinforce unity and mythology.

    Garry Belinsky

  3. Symmetrical entry spaces combine reflective metals, stone, and warm wood ceilings. Tone-on-tone graphics and light-wash illustrations introduce brand storytelling through subtle pattern and material

  4. “Welcome to Ballhalla” introduces a graphic concept merging Valkyrie wings with the Bay Bridge, connecting the team’s mythology with the geography of San Francisco and Oakland.

    Populous

  5. Dark marble surfaces and engraved messaging embed the idea of “writing our own myth” into the architecture, with player rosters highlighted against custom patterned wall coverings.

  6. Dark architectural surfaces promote focus while controlled violet accents introduce energy and identity, balancing high-performance training requirements with moments of brand expression.

Project Details
This is a riveting sports environment set into a full-on theatrical environment—fitting for the epic stories.
Juror 1
The new branding is confident out the gate, establishing the new women's team on an equal level with the very established and famous men's team, with whom they share an arena. The environment is brought to life cohesively, creating bold moments throughout the facility with symbolic murals, iconography, and tone of voice that convey energy, respect, and confidence.
Juror 2
Design Team

Francisco Besa (creative director)
Corey Mintz (design lead)
Brianna Dallas (senior designer)
Amber Luther (project manager)

Collaborators

A3 Visual (fabrication)

Photo Credits

Garry Belinsky (photography)

Open Date

February 2025

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