The United States Bowling Congress Board of Directors has given approval to start negotiations with all parties involved to relocate the organization's headquarters to Arlington, Texas.
 
The decision, made Sunday during the Board's meeting in Myrtle Beach, S.C., is contingent on negotiations for buildings and land near the Bowling Proprietors' Association of America complex along with any incentives offered by the City of Arlington and State of Texas. The BPAA Board of Directors also must approve the plan which it is scheduled to do at a meeting Wednesday during the BPAA Mid-Winter Meetings in Myrtle Beach.
 
"After carefully considering the facts, including taking into account the long history of USBC and its predecessors in the Milwaukee area, the Board came to the conclusion that it was in USBC's best business interests to join with BPAA in Arlington creating an international bowling campus," said USBC President Jeff Bojé.
 
USBC Headquarters will move to Arlington unless there is a breakdown in the negotiations relating to the property. If all details can be worked out, USBC is expected to move its headquarters operations within a year. In addition to office space for approximately 235 overall employees, the new complex would include a combined equipment testing and international training center.
 
"The property we are looking at is in a very high profile area that we believe will help enhance the visibility of the sport of bowling," Bojé added. "In addition to being close to Six Flags, the Texas Rangers baseball stadium and new Dallas Cowboys football stadium are close by. There also are a number of other entertainment venues in the vicinity.
 
"With USBC and BPAA under the same roof, there's an untold number of ways we can work together to help grow the sport," Bojé said. "There already are a number of joint programs that we work together on and this proposal would allow us to do so even more."
 
USBC and BPAA announced in November their boards of directors had approved study of how much their operations should be integrated. The goal was to use such efficiencies to help grow the sport of bowling.