Nike's sport research lab is a destination for athletes when they visit Nikeâs Oregon campus.We might solve a problem they have or help with a performance issue, but the really cool thing is making them part of the process.he research lab was started in Nikeâs infancy, in 1980 in Exeter, N.H. It was formed in response to the running boom of the late â70s (the name was coined by recent hire Mark Parker, current NIKE, Inc.