ALLEN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--California-based MonkeySports, Inc., the leading online retailer of hockey and lacrosse equipment in the U.S., has announced the relocation and expansion of its corporate headquarters and warehouse distribution business to Allen, TX.
According to company officials, other sites in Oklahoma and Texas were considered prior to making its decision to relocate to Allen and acquire a 261,000 SF building at 105 W. Bethany Drive for an undisclosed amount. Avison Young’s Matt Middendorf and Venture Commercial’s Theo Thompson represented MonkeySports on the acquisition of the property.
MonkeySports will relocate approximately 25 key employees from Corona, CA, over the next few months and expects to hire just over 150 primarily logistics-related employees by the end of the year, and fill another 50 similar positions over the following two years. The company also plans to open a large retail superstore in Allen that will carry a full line of professional team hockey, goalie, lacrosse and baseball equipment.
“We were seeking a more favorable business climate,” said MonkeySports President Tom Arnold. “Texas, and Allen, in particular, rate highly in consideration of economic climate, growth prospects, available labor, regulatory environment and quality of life.”
“It is significant that MonkeySports chose Allen for its corporate home,” said Allen Mayor Stephen Terrell. “Allen is a pro-business, pro-sports community and we feel that resonated with the search team.”
MonkeySports, Inc., established in 1999 as a single hockey store with three employees, now operates five online retail stores and five brick-and-mortar superstores in Norwood, MA; Irvine and Santa Ana, CA; Woodbridge, NJ; and Södertälje, Sweden, with four more brick-and-mortar superstores slated to open by the end of 2014. It is a leading online retailer of premium ice and roller hockey, goalie, lacrosse and baseball equipment, operating under the website banners: hockeymonkey.com, goaliemonkey.com, lacrossemonkey.com, homerunmonkey.com, and hockeymonkey.eu.
“Allen fosters significant organic growth with the companies already located here, and we also continue to attract relocations from companies elsewhere in the Metroplex and U.S.,” said Scott Sutherland, president of the Allen Economic Development Board of Directors (AEDC). “This relocation is an outstanding example of our mission. MonkeySports is making a substantial commitment and investment in relocating its operation to Allen and it will create hundreds of jobs in the process.”
Sutherland said the AEDC offered an economic incentive package based on job creation and the achievement of specific capital investment benchmarks.
ABOUT ALLEN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
In 1992, the citizens of Allen passed a citywide half-cent sales tax in support of an economic development corporation. Since its inception, the Allen Economic Development Corporation has been charged with facilitating company relocations and assisting the expansion of existing businesses, which creates jobs and additional tax revenue to the community. Since 1992, the AEDC has recruited over seventy new businesses and industries to Allen that have contributed to increasing Allen's total ad valorem tax base from $729 million in 1992 to over $8.3 billion in 2013.
The AEDC Board of Directors, appointed by the Allen City Council, governs the corporation's operations. These individuals represent a diverse spectrum of interests and expertise, which is invaluable to making prudent decisions with regard to the quality of Allen's economic development.