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Michael Jordan's Prerequisite for Starring in Space Jam? An NBA-Quality Hoops Court on WB's Backlot
Nothing gets in the way of basketball training — not even the Looney Tunes!
Nothing gets in the way of training — not even the Looney Tunes!
While he was faking a high-stakes basketball match for 1996's Space Jam (now streaming on Peacock), NBA superstar Michael Jordan still needed to be at the top of his game, ready for an arduous season with the Chicago Bulls. That's why Warner Bros. agreed to build a full compound — known as the "Jordan Dome" — on an employee parking lot at the studio's headquarters in Burbank, California during the film's production.
Michael Jordan Needed an Entire Basketball Compound Built During Space Jam
"I requested specialized Cybex equipment related to basketball. We requested an NBA basketball floor with professional goal [hoops and backboards]," Jordan's personal trainer Tim Grover revealed in the official making-of book, Space Jammin', written by Charles Carney and Gian Misiroglu. "I needed an area for Mike to relax, a stern system, a telephone, a fan machine [for business], a bathroom, and a towel and shower facility for everybody. I just took the blueprints of how I train him in Chicago and that's what we did out here. ... I made it [a place] where Michael and his guys and the other players could come and kick back and relax also."
Grover made a huge wish-list of amenities, expecting some pushback on budget, but "everything I had requested was in there. Everything," he said. "It was beautiful."
The Jordan Dome was a top-of-the-line structure, complete with a basketball court loaned out from California State University, Long Beach, a 24-hour security team, and an industrial air conditioning system that could keep large chunks of meat at the optimum temperature if necessary. It eventually became an exclusive VIP hangout for athletes, celebrities, and studio personnel alike. Pop culture icons like Dennis Rodman, Shaquille O'Neal, Magic Johnson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Antonio Banderas, Steven Segal, and the entire casts of ER and Friends were some of the most notable visitors.
Moreover, the Dome became one of the few places where professional basketball players could congregate amidst the NBA strike of 1995. "All the summer leagues and all the practice facilities were closed," Grover continued. "If you wanted to play the best basketball during the summer, this was the place to be."
"It's a selfish thing in certain ways," states Dan Goldberg, who produced the film alongside the late Ivan Reitman. "We had to make the Jordan Dome. We wanted him close by, so we could get him here quickly and not waste a lot of time, and we didn't want him lost in traffic or that sort of thing. He couldn't move his schedule. He really did have to play basketball, and he really did have to go and rehearse."
Space Jam is now streaming on Peacock.
