USBC Board votes its intention to move headquarters to Texas
3/11/2008
By Jerry Schneider USBC Communications
The United States Bowling Congress Board of Directors has given approval to announce its intention to relocate the organization's headquarters to Arlington, Texas, where it will reside with the Bowling Proprietors' Association of America.
The decision, made during a meeting Sunday in Atlanta, came after presentations were made by officials from Arlington and Milwaukee, the homes of the BPAA and USBC, respectively.
"This is a great day for bowling. Relocating to Arlington would allow for the creation of an international bowling campus. We can set the foundation for tremendous growth and opportunities for decades to come," said USBC President Jeff Bojé. "Both cities made excellent presentations and either would have been good locations for USBC. The Board decided Arlington would be the best location should the USBC receive approval of investment from the Texas Enterprise Fund."
Contingent upon TEF approval, USBC Headquarters is expected to move to Arlington later this year. In addition to office space for about 200 overall employees, the new complex will include a 12-to-16-lane combined equipment testing and international training center to form a $14 million international bowling campus. BPAA has pledged to pay for half of the complex while utilizing less than one-fifth of the space.
The property is located at 621 Six Flags Drive, across the street from Six Flags Over Texas in the heart of Arlington's entertainment and sports district. It is about three blocks east of Rangers' Ballpark in Arlington, home of the Texas Rangers baseball team, and about six blocks east of the new Dallas Cowboys stadium set to open in 2009. The creation of an international bowling campus at such a high profile location will provide the opportunity to showcase bowling to the world that doesn't exist at the present location.
"Integration of operations can be achieved without the loss of identity or control of the individual organizations," said BPAA President Joe Schumacker. "By working in tandem with USBC, we can fulfill our individual missions, as well as protect and grow all levels of competitive bowling.
"The concept of integrating the operation of the BPAA and the USBC makes sense. Bowling has changed dramatically over the past 25 years. It is imperative the organizations embrace change so they can continue to professionally support their individual constituencies."
The new joint venture is expected to help grow the sport by USBC and BPAA by being more able to work together on joint programs such as youth bowling and coaching. Youth bowling and coaching have been major points of emphasis for the organizations.
An additional factor for the Board's decision was ease of travel. As one of the world's largest airports, Dallas/Fort Worth International makes it much easier for those traveling to and from the international bowling campus, especially those traveling internationally.
USBC and BPAA announced in November that their boards of directors had approved a study of how much their operations should be integrated. The goal was to use such efficiencies to help grow the sport of bowling. The organizations' boards of directors gave approval in January to start negotiations with all parties involved to relocate the organization's headquarters to Texas.
