Key Takeaways
- The most expensive mistake is choosing the wrong locker size—fix it early, because it’s costly to redo.
- Sacrificing aisle width to fit more lockers creates a cramped, unsafe change room.
- Cheap materials cost more over a 10-year period than quality materials bought once.
- Ventilation must be part of the design, not an afterthought.
- Skipping branding and personalisation is a missed opportunity for culture and recruitment.
Designing a locker room sounds simple—it’s just storage, right? In practice, locker room design involves a lot of decisions, and each one can go wrong in ways that are expensive to fix. After 30 years of designing and installing locker rooms for Australian and New Zealand clubs, we’ve seen every mistake. Some clubs have had to replace their lockers within 3 years. Some have change rooms that technically function but are unpleasant to use. Some have missed the culture and recruiting opportunity that a well-designed change room represents.
This guide covers the 10 most common locker room design mistakes—and how to avoid each one.
Mistake 1: Choosing Lockers That Are Too Narrow
What happens: Coaches choose locker widths based on what “looks about right” or what fits the maximum number of bays into the room. They underestimate how much storage players actually need, especially for contact sports. Within a season, lockers are overflowing, gear is getting damaged, and players are frustrated.
How to avoid it: Research the actual storage requirements of your sport before choosing a width. For AFL, rugby league, and cricket: 18–24 inches minimum. For soccer, netball, and basketball: 15–18 inches is usually sufficient. When in doubt, choose wider. Fitting 28 lockers of the right size is better than 35 lockers that are too narrow to be useful.
Mistake 2: Sacrificing Aisle Width for More Lockers
What happens: A club wants to maximise locker count, so the designer squeezes the aisle width to fit more runs. The result is a change room where players can’t pass each other without turning sideways, and where post-match crowding creates a safety risk.
How to avoid it: Minimum aisle width is 1.2 metres for BCA compliance. Target 1.5 metres for most sports change rooms. For large squads or contact sports, 1.8 metres is ideal. If you can’t fit the number of lockers you want at adequate aisle width, consider a second change room, a staggered-use system, or accepting a smaller locker count with better spacing.
Mistake 3: Buying Cheap Materials to Save Money
What happens: A club chooses the lowest-cost locker option—often particleboard or thin MDF with a laminate surface. Within 2–4 years, surfaces start peeling, moisture has caused swelling at door frames, and structural components have failed. The club needs to replace the lockers far earlier than anticipated.
How to avoid it: Buy quality once. Quality birch ply construction with a sealed finish lasts 15–20+ years in Australian conditions. Calculate cost per year of service, not just the upfront price. A $600 locker that lasts 20 years costs $30 per year. A $250 locker that needs replacing after 4 years costs $62.50 per year—plus the disruption and additional installation cost of the replacement.
Mistake 4: Not Planning for Ventilation
What happens: Ventilation is not considered in the design process. The change room is built or fitted out, and within a season, persistent odour and humidity issues develop. Wet boots and damp gear stored in sealed lockers create ideal conditions for bacteria and mould. The room starts to smell, and equipment deteriorates faster.
How to avoid it: Address ventilation as part of the design process, not as an afterthought. Ensure locker bays have ventilated lower compartments for boot storage. Confirm that the room has adequate mechanical ventilation—minimum 10 L/s per person under NCC, but usually more is needed for active sports facilities. If the room has existing ventilation, assess whether it’s adequate before installing new lockers.
Mistake 5: Ignoring Sport-Specific Storage Needs
What happens: A generic interior configuration is used for every sport, regardless of what players actually need to store. Cricket players get a locker configured like a basketball locker—not enough depth for a bat and pads. AFL players get a locker with no ventilation for wet boots. Hockey players have no stick storage.
How to avoid it: Map out the actual equipment a player in your sport carries. If the facility serves multiple sports, identify the highest storage requirements and configure accordingly. Sport-specific interior configurations are not expensive to specify—they just require thinking about the use case before finalising the design.
Mistake 6: Skipping Branding and Personalisation
What happens: The club buys functional lockers in a neutral finish—usually off-white or grey—without club colours, logos, or player names. The change room is functional but culturally empty. The opportunity to create a space that players feel proud of and visitors are impressed by is missed entirely.
How to avoid it: Custom team colours and integrated logos are available on all tiers of our lockers, including the most affordable Semi Pro tier. Player nameplates are inexpensive to add. These elements transform a storage room into a culture space. Don’t skip them to save a small percentage of the total project cost.
Mistake 7: Not Planning for Future Roster Changes
What happens: Permanent player names are engraved or painted onto locker doors. When rosters change—as they do every season—the club has a change room full of lockers with the wrong names, and no easy way to update them.
How to avoid it: Use interchangeable nameplate systems rather than permanent engraving. Our lockers use a nameplate panel system where individual name cards can be replaced without tools. This allows roster changes to be reflected in the change room within minutes each season.
Mistake 8: Underestimating the Timeline
What happens: A club decides in August that they want new lockers for the start of the season in October. The manufacturing timeline is 6–8 weeks, design takes 2 weeks, and delivery and installation take another 2 weeks. The lockers aren’t ready until December—the season has already started, and the upgrade happens mid-season rather than before it.
How to avoid it: The total timeline from first contact to installed lockers is typically 10–14 weeks. Start the process at least 3 months before your target date. For pre-season installation, start enquiries in the off-season—ideally 4–5 months out.
Mistake 9: Designing for Current Squad Size Without Growth Allowance
What happens: A club designs the locker room for exactly the current number of players. Within a season or two, the squad grows, new teams are added, or a second grade program is established. There are not enough lockers. Adding new runs of lockers later means they can’t match the existing finish exactly, creating an inconsistent look.
How to avoid it: Design for current squad size plus 15–20% growth. If the room can physically accommodate more lockers than you currently need, leave the space and the infrastructure (locker run attachment points) in place even if you don’t fill all the bays immediately. Adding lockers that match an existing installation is always possible if the room was designed to accommodate them.
Mistake 10: Not Getting a 3D Rendering Before Committing
What happens: A club describes what they want verbally, approves a text quote, and receives lockers that are not quite what they imagined. The colour is slightly wrong. The layout doesn’t look right. The interior configuration isn’t what they expected. The lockers are built correctly to the specification agreed—but the mental image the club had didn’t match the specification on paper.
How to avoid it: Always get a 3D rendering of the proposed locker room before approving the design. A good rendering shows the actual colour scheme, the layout, the interior configuration, and how the room will look when complete. We provide 3D renderings as part of our standard design process—at no cost—precisely because it prevents mismatches between expectation and outcome.
Summary: How to Get Your Locker Room Right the First Time
Avoiding these 10 mistakes comes down to a few core principles:
- Specify locker width based on actual sport equipment requirements
- Never sacrifice aisle width for extra locker count
- Buy quality materials and calculate cost per year of service
- Address ventilation as part of the design, not afterwards
- Configure locker interiors for your specific sport
- Include custom branding and interchangeable player nameplates
- Start the project 3–4 months before your target date
- Design for future growth, not just current numbers
- Always review a 3D rendering before approving the design
Planning a locker room project? Book a free consultation and get a 3D rendering of your proposed change room—so you can see exactly what you’re getting before you commit.
Book Your Free ConsultationRelated Reading
- How to Choose Sports Lockers for Australian Teams
- 7-Step Locker Room Planning Guide
- Locker Room Installation Guide
- Complete Guide to Custom Sports Lockers
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most common locker room design mistake?
Choosing lockers that are too narrow for the sport. Coaches underestimate how much storage space their players need—particularly for contact sports with heavy equipment. A locker that seems adequate at first becomes cluttered and frustrating within a season. For AFL, rugby league, and cricket, 18–24 inch widths are needed. Choosing 12–15 inches for these sports is the most expensive mistake you can make, because fixing it means replacing the lockers.
How much aisle space do we need in a change room?
Minimum 1.2 metres between locker runs for BCA compliance and functional use. 1.5 metres is better for active, crowded change rooms. 1.8 metres is ideal for large squads or contact sports where players take up more space when kitting up. The most common layout mistake is fitting too many lockers into the room and sacrificing aisle space—which makes the room feel cramped and creates safety concerns during post-match crowding.
What is the problem with cheap locker materials?
Cheap particleboard or MDF lockers typically fail within 3–5 years in active Australian change rooms. They absorb moisture and swell, surfaces peel, and structural integrity fails. The initial cost saving is wiped out by early replacement—plus the disruption and additional cost of a second installation project within 5 years. Quality birch ply lockers last 15–20+ years and represent far better value over their lifespan.
Can bad ventilation really ruin a locker room?
Yes. Poor ventilation is the root cause of persistent odour, mould growth, equipment deterioration, and hygiene problems. It can also make a change room genuinely unpleasant to use—affecting player experience and club culture. Ventilation should be assessed as part of the design process, not added as an afterthought after problems develop.
Should we include player names on the lockers?
Yes, if at all possible. Player nameplates are one of the highest-impact, lowest-cost elements of a professional change room. They create a sense of personal ownership and belonging that generic-numbered bays don't. Interchangeable nameplate systems allow roster changes without replacing hardware.
