Behind The Scenes

Analyze this: S&A’s garage doors as
sports murals, creative outlets

ESPN’s Stats & Analysis, a department of Stats & Information, is used to developing custom analytics, but commissioning original art?

A recent collaboration with Creative Services yielded this equation: Garage Doors + Pop Art = Dazzling Decor.

When S&A moved into its new North Campus location, the group inherited eight large garage doors that were built in order to utilize training rooms that reside behind the doors.

Art Director Bob Bates and Designer Rajat Khullar were tabbed to transform the doors into canvasses that reflected the work of their new owners.

For inspiration, Bates looked to the bright colors and graphic textures of 1960’s Pop Art masters Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, and Roy Lichtenstein, all set in a Piet Mondrian-like grid.

Khullar then researched historical images emblematic of the eight sports depicted on each 14-square foot door.

Some ideas that the team came up with were:

1. Wayne Gretzky’s single-season goal record: 92
2. Will Chamberlain single-game scoring mark: 100 points
3. ESPN’s new Total QBR formula
4. Eric Heiden’s 5 gold medals
5. Bill Elliott’s fastest lap at Talladega
6. The first MLB line score of S&A history
7. UConn women’s basketball record winning streak 90-0

Art Director Bob Bates and Graphic Artist Rajat Khullar, creators of Stats garage door design.


The design team worked closely with S&A over five months to fine-tune the imagery and integrate very specific historical stats for each of the eight sports (football, baseball, basketball, auto racing, golf, hockey, tennis, athletics/ Olympic Games).

Nicole Pelaez-Dandrea, the Director of S&A, oversaw the relocation effort and was the main point of contact with Creative Services.

“Our department is about serving fans with the fastest, most accurate and insightful sports data in the world,” she said. “These murals represent great opportunities to recall memorable and historical moments in sports and also represent where we, as a team, served fans in extraordinary ways.”

Pelaez-Dandrea was thankful for the opportunity to play a role in this project and added, “I’d love to emphasize how collaborative this project really was. It was tough to walk that line of what we thought would make good art versus how the artist was interpreting our ideas. Rajat and Bob were so receptive to the back and forth, and generous with their time.”

Nicole Pelaez-Dandrea contributed to this article.

For more on ESPN’s Stats&Info Group, see this article on Forbes.com. Also, visit Stats&Info’s new Facebook page.

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