USA Badminton to Relocate to Anaheim

USA Badminton has announced that it will relocate its national headquarters and training center from Colorado Springs to Anaheim, California. In addition, Sports Anaheim announced that it has signed agreements with USA Volleyball to take over the national governing body’s contract with the city of Anaheim as the national team training site and with USA Water Polo, which will name the city its “official travel destination.”

Sports Anaheim was launched in March as a division of Visit Anaheim, the destination marketing organization for Anaheim and Garden Grove. Its mission is to attract national and international sporting events and serve as a resource for local organizations needing support in their bid to attract sports business.

“It is a historic day in Anaheim, for Sports Anaheim and the amateur sports community,” said Jay Burress, president and CEO of Visit Anaheim. “Today marks an important turning point for Sports Anaheim and the faith that USA Water Polo, USA Volleyball and USA Badminton have placed in our organization and ability to build a game-changing amateur sporting event destination. The agreements signed solidify Anaheim’s place in the growing amateur sports community.”

USA Badminton, which has four employees, recently announced the hiring of a new CEO, Jeff Dyrek, to replace long-time CEO Dan Cloppas, who is retiring. The exact timing of the relocation has not yet been determined but a specific timeline is expected to be complete by early 2017.

“We are excited to be headed to Anaheim where we will benefit from being closer to so many of our members and athletes,” USA Badminton’s Board of Directors Chairman David Simon said. “The sport is experiencing tremendous growth in California. This move puts us close to both current and prospective sponsors and by being on the Pacific Rim we will be a nonstop flight away from many major badminton nations.”

The deal with USA Volleyball will see Sports Anaheim take over the city’s end of the recently signed contract renewal the NGB had for its training sites. USA Volleyball has used Anaheim as the location for its men’s national team training since 2006 and the women’s team since 2009. “USA Volleyball could not be more pleased that our USA National Women’s and Men’s Teams will be calling the City of Anaheim home for another four years,” said Kerry Klostermann, secretary general of USA Volleyball. “The Olympic medals won by the teams in 2008, 2012 and 2016 are attributable to the generous support provided by the City of Anaheim and its citizens.”

USA Water Polo is based in Huntington Beach, California. The new arrangement with Anaheim will serve as a marketing partnership where Sports Anaheim will have a presence to promote the destination at future USA Water Polo events.