Nike World Campus vs. The Real World

Imagine a world where at any time during the work day you can get up from your work station and take a swim, get a massage, get your hair cut or even go shopping from a store that is designed just for you.

A world where you can take a walk down any hallway of any building and look at the past and present Nike athletic superstars like Jim Thorpe, Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Mia Hamm, Nolan Ryan and many more.

Well, in Beaverton, Ore., such a world exists and it’s called the Nike World Campus.

I was fortunate enough to check out this magical world (where Nike’s over 7,000 employees can wear sneakers and sweats to work) when I took the nearly two-hour tour of the campus during the first-ever Nike N7 Sports Summit held Oct. 28-30.

I covered a number of things at the Summit but dove into a couple of one-time opportunities that were offered with the Summit, which included the tour.

A group of about 15 of us went on an afternoon tour with an extremely knowledgeable tour guide named Mike.

Our first stop was the day care.

Nike’s very own day care. Years ago, Nike asked their employees what they could do to make things better for them, and the employees said a day care. So, in the blink of an eye – voilà! – a day care, with a beautiful view of the man-made lake.

And, it’s not your everyday day care. It’s the kind of day care where kids get to stroll around in car-like strollers around the Nike campus, where kids are practically raised among heroes like Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods. It’s also the kind of day care where almost every Friday, Nike shuts down it’s rock-climbing center so the kids can go up and down on the harnesses all day, as many times as they want.

Next stop, the cafeteria. At first, when I heard the word “cafeteria” I thought of the cafeteria I ate out of my entire childhood – the T’iis Naz Bas Boarding School (now Community School) cafeteria.

But the Nike cafeteria (there were two on campus) didn’t have military-style plates, silverware and cartons of white milk. Instead it had a pub, restaurant, a barbershop and a mini employee store.

Next on the tour was the health and wellness centers (there were also two on campus).

The health and wellness center is a place where employees or members can play pick-up basketball, hit the treadmill, do yoga, dance, cycle, swim, get massages, see a doctor if something’s a miss or even rock climb.

Let’s not forget, the employees can get up at anytime from their work place and take advantage of any of these.

In case employees get bored doing the same old things like play basketball, football or running, Nike decided to have an extra-extra curricular activity day on Thursdays for its employees.

In the lake that fills the center of the campus employees have mini-triathlons, where employees race in kayaks or canoes, cycle around the campus and finish with a run. Winners go home with a gift certificate to the employee store or a fancy bottle of wine.

And I can’t forget the two football (aka soccer fields) in the middle of the two million square feet campus, or, if you’re visual like me, the campus that’s as big as 35 football fields.

The football fields are used for athletes who need a private place to train, exercise or check out some Nike gear. There’s even a mini golf course where Tiger Woods drove a ball from one end of the campus to another.

And, anytime a Nike athlete comes to visit (which happens regularly), Nike sets up tennis courts, soccer goals, basketball courts and what ever else so the athlete can have a “little” expedition game, for anyone on campus to see.

The last stop was the research and testing center, where all Nike clothing, shoes and equipment gets tested. We were not allowed in the facility as the work being done in there is “top secret” so instead we all peered through the dark filmed windows looking for something exclusive.

Finally, we ended back at the Tiger Woods Center, where the entire Summit took place.

At Nike, all the buildings are named after Nike athletes who excelled in their sports.

Why Woods was one of the lucky ones to have his own Nike building named after him needs no explanation.

Nike even goes as far as naming each room in the building after something related, something personal to the athlete the building is named after.

For example, one of the conference rooms in the Tiger Woods Center is named “Summerlin,” where Woods had his first professional win in 1996 and “The Stanford” room where Woods went to college.

Somewhere between the Thursday employee activities and a massage at the wellness center, I started looking for a place to hide so I wouldn’t have to leave.

For a super small-town girl (even smaller than Fairfax), I was in complete awe.

And now I’m back in Pawhuska, where the nearest swimming pool is closed until next year and the nearest health center is IHS, and the only campus to tour is the one on the hill.

Maybe tomorrow I’ll get up from my workstation, put on all my Nike gear and ride my bike in the rain on the Osage Nation campus and pretend I’m back at the Nike World Campus.

To view photos from Sunnie Clahchischiligi's trip to the Nike World Campus visit the Osage News Flickr site.