Prince Global Sports on Thursday announced that it is moving its HQs from Bordentown, N.J. to Atlanta "as part of a broader shift of operations," according to J. Scott Trubey of the ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION. Prince CEO Mike Ballardie said that the company's Atlanta operations center "will have about 20 to 25 employees, most hired locally," and that it "could employ about 40 people over the next several years." Prince "has yet to sign a lease and declined to identify the location until a deal is done." Ballardie said that Prince chose Atlanta "in part because of the region's long tennis history," which currently includes the ATP BB&T Atlanta Open in July. The company also said that it will "move its research and development division and player services unit to sports training institute IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., where it operates the Prince Innovation Center." There, Prince can "work with some of the top young tennis players in the nation." David Ferrer and John Isner are "among the notable tennis stars who endorse Prince products" (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 2/28). FORBES.com's Darren Heitner noted Prince's move "comes after a 12 month strategic internal process and property search" that began in October '13. It also takes place "roughly two years after Prince filed for bankruptcy protection and a year after Ballardie was named" to his current role (FORBES.com, 2/27).
