Michael Jordan about the Jordan Dome: 'They built a facility where I could take showers, work out or play basketball, watch films, watch TV'

When Michael Jordan was shooting the movie Space Jam, he was also preparing for the 1995-96 NBA season. So before he started filming the movie, he asked Warner Bros. for a place where he could work out and play hoops while doing the movie.

At first, the movie company suggested a makeshift basketball court in a parking lot near the set. However, Michael Jordan's personal trainer Tim Grover, reportedly disagreed and laid out what he and his client needed. And so the Jordan Dome came to be.

"As you know, they built a facility where I could take showers, work out or play basketball, watch films, watch TV, or do whatever," said Jordan. "My days normally ran from 8 to 1. I would start lifting weights from 1:30 to 3, go back, and finish my day. At 7:30, I'd come back over and play until 9:30. I'd go back and go through the same things every day."

The Jordan Dome

Based on Grover's specifications, Warner Bros. brought in gym equipment, an entertainment center, locker rooms with showers, a card table, putting green, and of course the floor of the Long Beach State University basketball court. All of these were put inside a huge inflatable dome that looked like a laboratory straight out of Area 51.

But having the facility was one thing, MJ playing with the kind of competition that he needed was another. And so when the dome was complete, MJ's team sent out invitations to local pros, other clients of David Falk, the UCLA Bruins men's basketball team, and of course the other players who were with Michael in the movie. Word of the Jordan Dome spread like fire and soon, the best players in the NBA wanted in too. For Mike, it was basketball heaven.

"Reggie was a great measuring stick for me because we competed so much against each other," added MJ. "I played against him every day. Chris Mills was new. I wasn't used to playing against Chris. I learned how to play against him. I learned how to play against Grant Hill for a couple of days. Rod Strickland is guarding some points guards, knowing that I'd have to play some point guard. Pooh Richardson. Charles Oakley, same game - can't go in the paint when he's around."

It was like an All-Star game every day

While Mike was getting the tune-up that he needed, the people who came to watch games there - including some of the biggest Hollywood stars like Kevin Costner, Arnold Schwarzenegger, LL Cool J, Queen Latifah, and Halle Berry, got a treat every night with some of the best players in the NBA going at it as if it were an old-fashioned All-Star game.

"You were getting almost an NBA All-Star Game every day," said former NBA player and UCLA alum Tracy Murray. "You had at least 100 players on the sidelines on days when everybody was in town. You'd look up, and you'd have one team with Rod Strickland, Michael Jordan, Glen Rice, Larry Johnson, and Alonzo Mourning. And then on the other team, you'd have Tim Hardaway, Reggie Miller, Grant Hill, Charles Oakley, and Pat Ewing. That one court was packed every day."

The following season, Jordan played all 82 games and led the league in scoring at 30.4 points per game. He won his fourth NBA MVP award while the Bulls produced the first 70-win regular season in NBA history en route to winning their fourth NBA title and re-establishing themselves as kings of basketball. 

All that while Space Jam was a box-office hit. Warner Bros. spent $80 million on the movie plus the Jordan Dome. They were rewarded with what was then the highest-grossing basketball film ever at $250 million worldwide.