One aspect of road trips -- visitor's locker rooms -- often provide the most memorable experiences from away games. Some facilities are welcoming, while most are inhospitable, to say the least.
So how do the Pac-10 visitor's quarters compare? Where do they stack up against each other?
With the help of Trojan coaches, players and equipment staff, we rank the visitor's locker rooms from around the Pac-10, from best to worst. We break it down by functionality, comfort level, journey to the field (length of walk and/or if there are stairs to navigate) and space for meetings. The best in each category receives nine points, while the worst receives one (see the chart at right). It all adds up to produce the ranking, with the Rose Bowl the obvious winner and Memorial Stadium at California the clear worst visitor's locker room. Pretty much all the other locker rooms in between have their ups and downs.
We left the Coliseum visitor's locker room out of the mix since it doesn't affect the Trojans, but in case you're wondering, it would fall somewhere in the middle third of the rankings. And if you can't tell from the descriptions below, visitor's locker rooms around the Pac-10 are generally not the most comfortable or inviting places -- far from it, in fact. Here are our rankings, from best to worst (and be sure to voice your opinion on which Pac-10 road venue is the best from a fan's perspective here):
1. Rose Bowl (UCLA)
Because of a $16-million renovation in 2007, the home and away Rose Bowl locker rooms are now state-of-the-art, equal in amenities and 27,000 square feet each, providing a sparkling facility and a massive open area for team meetings. The locker room, hands down the best in the conference, is also ideal for the equipment staff because of easy loading and unloading, and the walk to the field is a perfect distance -- long enough to get pumped up but not too far as to get tired.
2. Stanford Stadium (Stanford)
The recent stadium renovations didn't affect the visitor's locker room too much, but it was a fine facility to begin with anyway. A large open space in the middle of the room and a high ceiling remove any feelings of claustrophobia normally found in visitor's locker rooms, and the walk to the field isn't too far.
3. Sun Devil Stadium (Arizona State)
With the NFL coming and going from this stadium in the past, the facilities are some of the best in the conference. The locker room is relatively clean and new, and the equipment and training staffs have their own separate rooms. There's also a fair-sized open area for team meetings. The only downside to this locker room is the lengthy walk, part of which cuts through a concourse area between fans.
4. Autzen Stadium (Oregon)
The visitor's locker room at Autzen Stadium epitomizes the tale of two worlds. On one hand, it's clean, lockers are big and it's literally about 10 feet from the field. But on the other hand, it contains two aisles of lockers and no open meeting space, so team gatherings have to occur in a tiny entry way just outside the locker room and on the precipice of the field. And, the water from the showers is notoriously cold.
5. Arizona Stadium (Arizona)
Arizona Stadium was built in 1928; its visitor's locker room seems like it was built in 1927. A low ceiling and concrete floor give this a rustic, archaic feel, and players have to walk up a narrow staircase to reach the field. Its only saving grace is a decent-sized open area in the middle of the room, but otherwise it's a very dilapidated facility.
6. Husky Stadium (Washington)
Cramped quarters and a long, uphill walk down a narrow tunnel make the visitor's locker room at Husky Stadium a less-than-inviting place. We should clarify -- it's not even in Husky Stadium, but in the adjacent basketball arena, so you can imagine how long of a jaunt it is from the field to the visiting team's quarters. Also, there's no open area for meetings, but fortunately it is relatively clean and new.
7. Martin Stadium (Washington State)
Think of the locker room you used for JV football in high school, and that's pretty much the visitor's locker room at Washington State. It consists of several rows of orange metal lockers and absolutely no open area for meetings (showers become the places to go to gather), and the walk to Martin Stadium takes the visiting team down a hallway, outside, around a large P.E. building, through a long tunnel and finally onto the field after about 300 yards of maneuvering through the Pullman campus.
8. Reser Stadium (Oregon State)
A long walk up a hill, across a campus street and then down some stairs is just the beginning of the gantlet away teams have to experience with the visitor's locker room at Reser Stadium. Well, it's not actually in Reser Stadium, but in the dark, decaying basement of a nearby physical education building. Inside the locker room doesn't make up for the journey to it, as there's no space for meetings (sense a common theme here?) and the room is just two rows of ceiling-high wooden lockers. And to add insult to injury, the showers are across the hall, making this easily one of the least inviting locker rooms in the conference.
9. Memorial Stadium (California)
Want to be instantly miserable? Walk into Cal's visitor's locker room. The tiny, ancient quarters define depressing and decrepit in oh so many ways. The actual locker room itself is all but falling apart, the showers and bathroom lack any comforts and there's no room for trainers or equipment staffers to set up shop (they end up taking over a shower room). Also, it's essentially in the concourse, so you can smell the hot dogs and popcorn and hear the crowd. And lastly, the journey to the field includes a walk down windy, rickety steps, a downhill walk down a narrow tunnel and then a walk up a set of stairs to get to field level. Though the score is relatively close between Cal's visitor's locker room and the others in the conference, it's not even a contest that this one takes the title. So congrats go out to Memorial Stadium; you win -- lose? -- this competition.
• All photos by Ben Malcolmson, from the 2007-09 seasons.
