Milwaukee loses crown as bowling capital of world By Jeff Richgels

It's official: Milwaukee no longer will be the bowling capital of the world.

After notifying its more than 200 employees this morning, the United States Bowling Congress announced that its Board of Directors has given approval to relocate the organization's headquarters to Arlington, Texas, where it will reside with the Bowling Proprietors' Association of America. The move is contingent upon approval of funding from the Texas Enterprise Fund, USBC said.

Milwaukee became America's Tenpin Capital a century ago when Milwaukee proprietor Abe Langtry lobbied to bring the American Bowling Congress tournament to Milwaukee in 1905, then was elected secretary of the men's governing body two years later. The Women's International Bowling Congress joined the ABC in Milwaukee when Jeannette Knepprath reined over that body from 1924-60.

The ABC and WIBC cooperated to share headquarters in Greendale and then merged to form the USBC, which includes the former governing body of junior bowling as well.

The decision by USBC to move from its long-time base in the Milwaukee suburb of Greendale had been in the works for months. USBC and BPAA announced in November that their boards of directors had approved a study of how much their operations should be integrated. The organizations' boards of directors gave approval in January to start negotiations for a relocation.

The decision, made during a meeting Sunday in Atlanta, came after presentations were made by officials from Arlington and Milwaukee.

Milwaukee officials reportedly offered the group two sites for a new headquarters: one on Milwaukee's south side and the other in Cudahy.

"This is a great day for bowling," USBC President Jeff Boje said in a statement. "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. 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."

The move culminates years of increasing cooperation between USBC and BPAA, which at times had relations as poor as the U.S. and Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War.

Boje is one of the nation's leading proprietors and his election as USBC president would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. But as bowling has declined in recent decades, all the major parties began working closer together.

Assuming TEF approval, the USBC is expected to move to Arlington later this year. Boje pegged the TEF approval probability at 99 percent and expects it to happen within a month, Bowlers Journal International reported today.

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 the Texas Rangers' Ballpark in Arlington, 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, USBC said.

"Integration of operations can be achieved without the loss of identity or control of the individual organizations," BPAA President Joe Schumacker said in a statement. "By working in tandem with USBC, we can fulfill our individual missions, as well as protect and grow all levels of competitive bowling."

An additional factor in the board's decision was ease of travel, USBC said, noting that Dallas/Fort Worth International makes it much easier for those traveling to and from the international bowling campus, especially those traveling internationally.

USBC serves more than 2.6 million certified adult and youth members. BPAA represents the business interests of more than 3,400 bowling center owners worldwide.