As part of a £23m investment in its stadium in Hendon, Northwest London, Gallagher Premiership Rugby Champions Saracens specified several ranges from Minoli.
The redevelopment of the grounds and infrastructure was undertaken to ensure the facilities provided for Saracens men’s, women’s and academy rugby teams are fit for the future, providing the quality of space for the teams, the fans with improved seating and hospitality lounges and the media with suitable areas externally and internally.
The 1876 stand is also home to Middlesex University, which runs nursing and sports science divisions, as well as providing additional space for the stadium’s resident athletics team, SBH, and much needed community facilities, with the expansion of the Saracens charity foundation and its outreach programme.
Inside, the players’ changing facilities have been upgraded with 35 locker spaces, a new area for the home team, a hot and cold spa bathroom for post-match and a special lounge for club director Mark McCall and his coaches.
With the aim of providing a superior hospitality, player and coaching experience, and to ensure this significant redesign would stand the test of time, given the multi-use nature of the stadium, it was key that durable and low maintenance surface solutions were incorporated into the scheme.
Throughout the reception areas, hallways and staircases, the Minoli Norway Series in the Farge colourway was specified. According to the tile retailer, this range features a “playful, pebble-effect pattern and multi-tone, stone shading with flecks of iron oxide and blackened basalt”.
Norway Farge was also employed in one of the stadium’s hospitality areas, inset into the wooden floor to create a circular surround to the bar, which is also clad in Norway Farge Portnoy Mosaico, featuring layers of different width lateral bands, offset to allow each sheet to interlace. This environment is also equipped with colourful LED mood lighting casting a hue of blue, green, red or purple, depending on the desired atmosphere.
In the players’ showers, the company’s Wanderlust Series has been used, a collection of large format tiles and “super-sized” slabs, designed to emulate exclusive and exotic stoneware from around the world. The team at Saracens chose the Agata Blue design, described by Minoli as “a vibrant variant comprising cobalt, sapphire and turquoise tones with a gemstone-like pattern”.
In their 120x278cm scale, the slabs offer uninterrupted floor to ceiling coverage on the walls, Minoli says, minimising grout lines and providing a hygienic and easy to clean surface.
“Our thanks and appreciation go to the in-house project team at Saracens for specifying Minoli’s porcelain tile collections and we’re delighted to be associated with such a prestigious and perfectly presented project,” said the tile retailer.
www.minoli.co.uk
