A leading supplier of equipment and accessories for the fast-growing sport of “floorball” has set up its headquarters, showroom and distribution center in the Upper Great Southwest Industrial District in Grand Prairie.
FloorballPlanet, a division of GBK Sports LLC, has selected Woodlands Business Center Building 3, 2005 108th St., in Grand Prairie, as its sole operating base. The distributor has signed a long-term lease for 12,818 square feet in a historically full class A industrial park, located one block east of TX 360.
“There was no down time between tenants. When a new space pops up, there’s always a lot of demand for it,” said Michael W. Spain, executive vice president and managing partner of Dallas-based Bradford Commercial Real Estate Services. The three-building project, totaling, 91,854 square feet, is fully leased.
The Dallas-Fort Worth is a key player in the growth of floorball in the nation, hosting the USA Cup competition each year. The 2017 Lonestar Invitation Floorball Tournament was recently held in the Elzie Odom Athletic Center in Arlington. The sport is on track to become an Olympics competition by 2024. This year, floorball will be part of the Special Olympics and World Games.
The game is similar to ball or floor hockey, emphasizing speed and skill more so than strength. The first modern floorball game took place in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1968. The game was played in the 1950s in Canada as ball hockey and the U.S. as Cosom hockey. The International Floorball Foundation was founded in 1986 by Sweden, Finland and Switzerland, the first three countries to form associations. There are now 40 countries with associations. The U.S. association is headquartered in Nevada.
“We all had our eyes opened somewhat as to how big this sport is. A lot of folks involved in this transaction had to be educated about floorball,” Spain says. He and Bradford colleagues, Brock Wilson, senior vice president and managing partner, and Joe Santaularia, first vice president, represent the landlord, Woodlands Business Center LLC.
Bob Gibbons of REATA Commercial Realty LLC represented FloorballPlanet, which has 3,700 square feet of office and showroom at its new location. Launched in 2008 to promote the indoor hockey sport, FloorballPlanet sells sticks for all skill levels, balls, gear bags, apparel, blades, grips, goalie equipment and accessories for the biggest brands in the industry. www.floorballplanet.com