Effective football equipment storage does more than organize your stuff for easy access. Innovative storage solutions can support equipment maintenance, maximize space, and prolong the life of your athletic equipment, supporting player safety and cost efficiency.
Whether it's during the season or in the off months, football gear storage has several priorities:
- Simplify athlete and equipment manager access
- Keep equipment dry and clean
- Protect from dust, moisture, and mold
- Prevent premature wear and tear
- Preserve the appearance of team gear
- Minimize unpleasant odors
Fortunately, we’ve got our head in the football equipment storage game. With high-density mobile shelving, modular casework, and static shelving options with plenty of customizations and accessories, our experts can help you make the best football storage game plan.
Tackle Limited Space
Not every football program has the budget of the Dallas Cowboys. They operate in limited space, which makes optimizing every square inch of equipment storage essential.
Kennesaw Mountain High School faced the daunting task of accommodating equipment for 250 athletes within just 356 square feet – a major challenge to organization and efficiency. Picture helmets piled up on a table or hanging on wall hooks, and jerseys bunched together or hanging from nondescript racks.
To revamp the space, Patterson Pope installed a single 22-foot row of static shelving to anchor the storage system. Adding a pair of 16-foot-long high-density compact shelving systems created movable aisles to minimize storage footprint. Additional adjustable shelving created item-specific storage compartments and player cubbies.
Varsity Head Football Coach Andy Scott was pleased with the results. He said, “Now, we not only know exactly where everything is, but it’s a lot easier to get to, and that’s a big deal.”
Contain Increasing Inventories
Football equipment is always evolving. We’re a far cry from using leather gear with earflaps as helmets. Today, football programs at all levels of play have to store and maintain a diverse range of equipment. Everyone from middle schools to colleges must find a place for pads, helmets, uniforms, and more.
At the professional level, it’s a lot to keep up with. Carolina Panthers Equipment Manager Jackie Miles remembers the days when players had just one sweatsuit. Today’s players have many more choices. “Everybody has a light, middle, and heavyweight sweatsuit and a rain suit,” Miles said. “Also, there’s been specialization…You went from using one type of T-shirt in four different sizes to six different types of T-shirts in two colors in five different sizes.”
Miles has seen his equipment inventory triple since the Panthers debuted in the NFL, and their football equipment storage has had to adapt to a growing inventory. The Panthers responded by renovating their equipment room with high-density mobile storage, static shelving, and modular drawer cabinets designed to store all types of football equipment.
The move to compact, mobile Spacesaver cabinets doubled the amount of shelving space in the team’s equipment room. But the space optimization wasn’t the only gain for Miles and the Panthers. He described the new room as beautiful and functional and a space that would help players know the team works “hard to make things better for them.”
Kick-off Frequent Access
A football team typically only takes to the field for a game once a week, but there’s also practice to equip. Plus, rosters can exceed 100 players. Add up all the different mouthguards, gloves, socks, cleats, pads, helmets, and more and you’ve got a long list of football equipment that needs secure, sanitary storage. Easy access is essential to having players suited up for drills or doing their best in the big rivalry match.
Consider Florida State University (FSU). The Seminoles can have upwards of 130 players on the squad each year. Thanks to a generous alum donation, the team was able to transform its space into a locker room that offered easy access to equipment while serving as a recruiting tool.
Equipment Manager Darin Kerns worked with Patterson Pope’s athletic storage experts to design a tailored solution increasing organization and reducing the amount of equipment handling to avoid potential mishandling. After all, replacing torn, worn, and damaged gear can add up to a big budget line expense any program would rather spend elsewhere.
The installation added a pair of 10-foot-high mechanical assist high-density compact shelving systems, took advantage of more vertical space, and provided individual player cubbies. Building hip-high tables has also helped the equipment staff to maintain helmets, pads, and more. Additionally, all of it is branded with FSU logos and team colors.
“Recruits are coming through here, and I want them to see – and feel – that this is an exciting place to be. I want them to feel like they can’t wait to join us,” Kerns said. “We’ve managed to get everything in here in such a way that it looks great, it’s organized, and it’s got a little pizzaz, too.”
On Your Side with Football Storage
Effective football storage is an investment in the longevity of your equipment and the future of your program. With innovative storage solutions, you can maximize space, ensure access, improve safety, and cut costs even as you improve team operations. Contact a Patterson Pope representative today, and see the difference professional football storage solutions can make.
