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The Best of 2025: Performance Installs We Loved

2025 has been a remarkable year for performance facilities, with projects that push the boundaries of design, functionality, and athlete experience. From elite football and rugby clubs to world-class golf tournaments and luxury training hubs, these installations demonstrate how thoughtful design and high-quality equipment can support peak performance when it matters most.

Three key themes have defined this year’s standout builds.

Customisation and Branding: West Ham United FC

West Ham’s first team needed more than just a gym with equipment. It had to feel like home. Every element of the build reflected the club’s iconic branding, from colour schemes to layout, while optimising space for athletes to train with intensity.

Key Features

  • Custom flooring included custom red and yellow Agility Turf and custom branded logo Inlaid Flooring 

  • Custom 5 Series Full Racks and custom 5 Series Compact Nexus Racks

  • Custom branded Adjustable Benches

Client Insight

“The quality of the products is clear for everyone to see. The ability to customise everything to suit our needs and reflect the West Ham brand was crucial. BLK BOX delivered a gym that feels like our own.”

 – Josh Ewens, Head of S&C

This project shows how a high-performance facility can serve both function and identity, creating a space that motivates athletes while reinforcing the club’s visual identity.

Multi-Use Performance Spaces: The Campus

Located in the heart of Quinta do Lago, The Campus is a state-of-the-art multi-sports complex built to support athletes at every stage of their journey. From world-class professionals and international teams to families, enthusiasts, and rising talent, the facility is designed to help everyone train with purpose and progress towards their goals.

As part of their preparation for the 2025 Australia tour, the British & Irish Lions trained at The Campus. BLK BOX designed and built the performance gym used during the Lions’ June training camp, delivering a fully custom setup to support high-volume strength work, conditioning, and multi-sport performance demands. The facility was engineered to operate at elite intensity, supporting both structured gym sessions and wider team preparation ahead of the squad’s departure to Australia.

Key Features

  • 335 m² BLK BOX Challenger Gym Tile with shockpad underlay

  • Five lifting platforms, 5 Series Full Racks, Adjustable Benches

  • Agility Turf with sprint lines, cable machines, kettlebells, slam balls, sandbags

  • Concept 2 Rowers, Assault Air Bikes, SkiErg, and Wattbike AirPro

The Campus demonstrates how a purpose-built performance gym can support the demands of elite international rugby, giving the British & Irish Lions a flexible, high-capacity training environment for strength, conditioning, and team preparation ahead of a major tour.

Sport-Specific Performance: Ryder Cup

Golf may not appear high intensity, but at Ryder Cup level, performance margins are defined by strength, mobility, recovery and the ability to repeat under pressure. For the 2025 Ryder Cup in New York, BLK BOX delivered a purpose-built performance environment designed specifically for the demands of elite tournament golf.

Away Ryder Cups present some of the toughest conditions in the sport. Long days, travel fatigue, media pressure and repeated competition place a heavy physical load on players. Creating a space that supports preparation, recovery and consistency was central to the build.

Key Features

  • Integrated racks and cables, Open Hex Bars

  • Full Hex Dumbbell and Competition Kettlebell ranges

  • Recovery zones, Keiser spin bikes, recovery tools and mobility zones

Every element was selected to support rotational strength, joint health, low fatigue conditioning and fast recovery between rounds. Layout and flow allowed players to move efficiently between strength, activation and recovery, ensuring the gym worked around the team schedule rather than interrupting it.

Client Insight

Ryder Cup Europe highlighted the impact of the environment on player readiness and long-term standards for the event:

“The work BLK BOX put in to deliver one of the best player performance facilities we’ve had at a Ryder Cup was truly incredible. Creating environments like this is vital to team performance, and there is no doubt we have raised the standard for what we provide to our players moving forward.”

With consistently positive feedback from players and staff, the Ryder Cup gym reinforced the role of intelligent equipment selection, recovery integration and sport-specific design in elite golf performance.