|
Cheerleaders corral Grade A locker room
By Betsy Lehndorff, News Staff Writer The Denver Broncos cheerleaders won't just be cheering for their team at tomorrow's game. They'll also be jumping for joy about their new locker room. The secured area comes with personalized lockers, five showers and six bathrooms, a warm-up area with ballet barre, illuminated make-up mirrors and a separate lunchroom. "It really shows that they wanted the cheerleaders to feel they were part of a team," said Teresa Schroeder, 32, director of cheerleaders. Until this month, the 26-member group practiced and performed out of a batting cage room at Mile High Stadium. There were no showers or lockers and only a single bathroom. Schroeder said she was asked by stadium architects when Invesco Field was in the planning stages to come up with a wish list. She asked for, and got, showers, more bathrooms, and a separate lunchroom away from the smell of hair spray. She also got 32 lockers, a warm-up area and a storage room. She said the new facilities are essential for the hard-working athletes, who practice eight hours a week and spend another eight hours at the stadium on game day. The decor of the new locker room is similar to that in many of the stadium's public areas. The commercial carpeting is navy speckled with tan. Walls are white. Countertops are beige. Lockers are covered with blond wood veneers, and each cheerleader's name is engraved on a plaque. Theatrical make-up mirrors line two rooms, each lit with six bulbs on each side. Steelcase Criterion chairs in navy upholstery provide seating. Other decoration includes framed photos of teams from 1993 to the present, mementos from overseas trips and pictures of individual cheerleaders who went to the Pro Bowl.
| 
