Suns’ Cam Johnson previews Talking Stick Resort Arena renovations

Second-year Phoenix Suns forward Cam Johnson gave fans a behind-the-scenes look at the renovation work at downtown’s Talking Stick Resort Arena on Thursday.

Johnson, who was drafted 11th overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves and later traded to the Suns on draft night in 2019, toured a variety of areas inside the arena in the short video posted to the team’s Twitter page on Thursday evening.

This week we get an assist from Cam Johnson as we walk through the latest progress in the revamped Pavilion and Suns locker room. pic.twitter.com/3l6RvRO3le

— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) October 30, 2020

The former UNC Tar Heel gushed about the new LED screens put into the team’s locker room and the improved whirlpool and showers inside the space.

Johnson seemed particularly fond of the nine-foot-tall shower heads that are being installed, at one point asking an arena construction worker if he could turn the water on during the video.

The upgrades are part of a $230 million renovation that is scheduled to be 60% finished by the start of the 2020-21 season.

Some of the improvements include more than 17,000 new cushioned seats, 450 new screens across the arena and a new scoreboard that’s roughly six times larger than the previous iteration.

All of those tweaks seem to have piqued Johnson’s enthusiasm.

“We upgraded in just about every way possible,” Johnson says on the video. “The lockers are better, the space is better, the screens are better. The training room’s better, the tubs are better, the showers are much better.

“It’s a good vibe. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, it’s a good time to be a Sun.”

Johnson, who averaged 8.8 points and 3.3 rebounds per game as a rookie last season, will look to give Suns fans a reason for optimism when the season kicks off.

Right now, the plan in the NBA’s league office is to kick off a 72-game season on Dec. 22, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

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