Bay Badminton Center exclusive preview photo.

Discussion in 'Bay Badminton Center ( BBC )' started by kwun, Dec 8, 2007.

  1. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    Ben, that sucks!!! i was looking forward to seeing the final product.

    do let us know when you are able to open. i am sure a lot of badminton players are eager to check out BBC.
     
  2. Ben Lee

    Ben Lee Regular Member

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    Yes, by all means. We are still showing people our club but just cannot play yet. Please stop by and say hello.

    Yes, I know Kwun, it was very hard news today but we will just move forward and keep working hard. We'll get there soon.
     
  3. shreky

    shreky Regular Member

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    i tried to go there this afternoon but the GPS led me to a go-cart company instead. i had the right address though. i then called the gym but was told the opening was postponed .... i should have checked this thread before going, the traffic along 101 north late this afternoon was really bad .... so i guess see you guys next weekend then.
     
  4. badpanda

    badpanda New Member

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    Hey Shreky, the GPS did took you to the right street.:rolleyes:. BBC building is located in between Go-Cart and DHL, right next to DHL building.
     
  5. shreky

    shreky Regular Member

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    thanks badpanda. i'll take note of that on saturday.
     
  6. Ben Lee

    Ben Lee Regular Member

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    Bay Badminton Center is now open

    Hey everyone,

    Very exciting news!!!!! Bay Badminton Center is now officially open for business:). It has been a long road for us and a huge commitment but we did it. We are very excited to be able to offer one of the best badminton facilities around.
    Please stop by and join in on the fun and excitement. We look forward to seeing everyone and we thank you all for your patience. Make sure you stop by and say hello to us. See you all on the courts.

    BBC Management
    1611 Adrian Road
    Burlingame, Ca 94010
     
  7. ants

    ants Regular Member

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    Congratulations on your opening. :)
     
  8. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    Ben,

    will there be a grand opening event?
     
  9. al7ezza

    al7ezza Regular Member

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    That's great. I am very eager to come on this coming Saturday.
     
  10. Ben Lee

    Ben Lee Regular Member

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    Bay Badminton Center is now open

    Thanks everyone. The excitement is in the air. We have people playing in the gym right now as I type to you. It is somewhat of an emotional feeling seeing all the people playing on the courts. We cannot believe it. It's finally here.

    Yes, there will be a grand opening celebration. We are trying to get the schedules of a few very important people right now. We will have high level politicians attending our grand opening. We will keep everyone posted and would like all BCers to be there. As soon as we find out the schedule, we will let everyone know. In the meantime, please come down and enjoy BBC's excitement.

    BBC
     
  11. chris-ccc

    chris-ccc Regular Member

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    CONGRATULATIONS to BBC !!!

    .
    Hi Ben & Team,

    CONGRATULATIONS to BBC !!!

    I have just received your email, minutes ago... and I quickly come to check this thread hoping to see some photos.

    Do post some photos for us.

    Cheers... chris@ccc
    :):):)
    .
     
  12. ctjcad

    ctjcad Regular Member

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    Congrats, again,..

    ...on BBC's Grand Opening, too, Ben!!;):cool: Too bad i'm not there, if only to enjoy playing on the nice new reddish/orangeish/brownish baddy courts!!:):cool:
     
    #32 ctjcad, Dec 21, 2007
    Last edited: Dec 21, 2007
  13. jump17

    jump17 Regular Member

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    I just went there earlier today and it was great. there was a lot of people but it didn't feel packed since there were alot of space.
     
  14. hybridragon

    hybridragon Regular Member

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    I went there this afternoon and I liked what I saw. Honestly, it's probably the most spacious badminton gym I've seen. Good work with it.
     
  15. Ben Lee

    Ben Lee Regular Member

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    Bay Badminton Center

    I invited Kwun to Bay Badminton Center several weeks ago and had the pleasure of being interviewed by him. We actually had the opportunity to spend several hours together and I was delighted to host such a gracious person.
    The first thing I did was to show Kwun around BBC. I gave him a tour of our lobby/entrance, player's lounges, locker rooms, children's play area and finally, our main court arena.
    I also had the pleasure of sharing with Kwun the future badminton plans for BBC and the sport of badminton itself (if you read this Kwun, this is to remain confidential). BBC has its sights set very high and we want to do some great things for our members and for badminton.
    The club has now been open for almost two weeks and we have had a tremendous response. BBC's management would like to thank all those people who helped us make the club what it is today. We feel a strong commitment to our members and to badminton and promise to continue to try to make the club better all the time.
    The following article can be viewed on the front home page of badminton central but I just wanted to make sure our BCers from here can view it. Please read on and enjoy. Best regards to all from BBC.

    Bay Badminton Center, Burlingame
    [​IMG]Written by kwun Tuesday, 01 January 2008
    [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Perfection in a grand scale is how I would describe Bay Badminton Center in Burlingame, California.[/FONT]

    BBC is a brand new badminton club that was opened recently in 1611 Adrian Lane, Burlingame, a couple of miles down the road from the San Francisco International Airport, and directly next to the 101 highway. The location is simply flawless, it will attract badminton players from all over the bay, especially from the upper peninsula, as well as any fanatical badminton player who wants to cure their badminton addiction while having a layover in SFO.

    [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Visibility is another factor, BBC plan to erect a 40 feet sign fully visible from highway 101, this should attract a lot of non-badminton players as well.[/FONT]

    [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]As the 2nd largest dedicated badminton facility in the country, BBC will have a total of 16 courts. Yes, you read that right, sixteen courts in a 40,000 sq ft warehouse division. The scale of the facility has to be experienced to be believed, but to put it in a different way, more than 9 badminton courts wide, patrons will be tired by the time they get to the other end of the gym. I suggest the staff go around patrolling the gym in scooters, or in style on Segways.[/FONT]

    [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Space is so abundant in BBC, they provide ample amenities to their members, On top of the regular pro-shop, entrance desk, there are 2 lounges for adults, one teenager lounge, and on top of that, a toddler play area. Yes, a toddler play area. It is no surprise considering two of the owners have young children less than age 4.[/FONT]

    [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Oh, talking about the owners, this massive project was brought into reality by 4 partners, Ronald Fong, Ben Lee, Victor Lo and Harry Tan. One of the goals of the owners is to make BBC a very homely and welcoming facility. They want to promote badminton as a family sport and provide a family oriented social environment to enable that.[/FONT]

    [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The main court area is extremely spacious. There are two rows of courts, one row with 7, and the other row with 9 courts. As you should expect, court separation is generous, there are tons of space behind the court which means you will not need to worry about backing against a wall when playing.[/FONT]

    [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The flooring is custom laid and painted by Robbins Floorin, the softness of the Robbins flooring is excellent, players should have no problem adjusting to it. The net standards are custom designed and manufactured. They are directly drilled and fasten into the concrete base which means no counterweight to trip over.[/FONT]

    [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Oh, did I mention space is abundant in BBC? The perimeter of the gym is lined by at least 15 ft of sitting spaces, with a combination of chairs, rafters and tables for the ones waiting for their time slot. A short wall separates the sitting area and the badminton court, serving as a protection and also give the facility a feel of a sports arena.[/FONT]

    [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The color scheme of the gym is a nice departure from the already overly abused dark green. Instead it is a dark red color that was inspired by the Swiss Open badminton gym. The red badminton courts are contrasted by green surroundings as well as brown/beige wall. Very refreshing.[/FONT]

    [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Lighting, as some of you know as a badminton photographer I am very particular with lighting in a badminton gym. I am not sure why many badminton gyms have such horrible lighting as good light is essential to good badminton. BBC’s lights are custom designed and tuned to perfection, using T5 fluorescent light, the facility is brighter than all other dedicated badminton gyms I have been to. This is excellent as it will mean I can take some really excellent photos in future tournaments.[/FONT]

    [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The queuing system is a custom designed computer based queuing system. While not the first to employ a computerized system, I think soon this will become the standard way to remain on the leading edge of badminton facility design. What is probably a first is that the queuing system will be projected onto a large screen visible to all the courts.[/FONT]

    [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]BBC will have a coaching program head by ex-Olympian and co-owner Ben Lee, the head coach will be Radu Milevschi. While talking to Ben, I can tell that he is very passionate about badminton development and with his as well as Radu experience they will be able to make BBC one of the top badminton training facility in the country.[/FONT]

    [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I mentioned in the first paragraph that BBC is perfection in a grand scale. Perfection is apparent from the attention to detail, both planning as well as construction. BBC owner strived to make BBC one of the best badminton BBC facility in the country and they have really succeeded in doing so. During my visit, one of the owner asked me what they can do to make it any better, I was so in awed I had my mouth opened by I could not find anything that they have not thought of already.[/FONT]

    [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]As of today, BBC is already open to business. I strongly suggest badminton and non-badminton fanatics to go check it out. [/FONT]
     
  16. Oldhand

    Oldhand Moderator

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    Ben, Congratulations Again!

    Will this be just a massive sign saying 'BBC'?
    Or will this be a giant, illuminated figure of a jump-smashing badminton player?
    That'd be quite something! ;)

    Wow, that is HUGE... it's bigger than our indoor stadium! :eek:
    It'd be great for an international tournament and live TV coverage!

    Um, is that fair? :rolleyes:

    PS: kwun, it's a beautifully written piece.
    Now for some pictures too... :)
     
  17. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    we were in the area today so we dropped by BBC for some afternoon badminton. BBC is now open and the place is packed. imagine 16 courts full of people. i was told it get busier than this. the heavy rain today must be keeping people at home.

    here are the photos as requested by Oldhand! :)
     

    Attached Files:

  18. chris-ccc

    chris-ccc Regular Member

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    Badminton Central @BBC

    .
    Thank you for the photos kwun. And I like this one......

    [​IMG]

    It's good to find that we can still play Badminton on days of heavy rain.

    :):):)
    .
     
    #38 chris-ccc, Jan 6, 2008
    Last edited: Jan 6, 2008
  19. Oldhand

    Oldhand Moderator

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    The off-court area looks spacious enough to have a few more courts :eek:
    This amount of free space is truly a luxury :)

    The colour scheme is very attractive!
    And thanks a ton for the pictures :p
     
  20. ctjcad

    ctjcad Regular Member

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    Something refreshing...

    ..what stand out the most, at least to me, in this new badminton club are the colors being used, esp. in the playing area. What a breath of fresh air to see those colors being chosen and used!:cool:
    Another interesting thing i notice is the lack or absence of hanging screens at the back/in between courts, as background drops, which often times exist in many clubs.
    And, of course, can't resist smiling by looking @ those baseball-glove-designed chairs:)...Overall, looking @ the pics, the place does look inviting!:cool:
    Thanks, kwun, for taking and sharing those pics!;):cool:
     
    #40 ctjcad, Jan 8, 2008
    Last edited: Jan 8, 2008

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