COLORADO SPRINGS - USA Basketball are on the move after the organisation revealed it will be heading from Colorado to Arizona, as part of a $350 million development project planned for downtown Tempe.

The new national headquarters which will also include a state-of-the-art training centre for USA Basketball, will be constructed on a site located next to the Tempe campus at Arizona State University.

The finalised site 'USA Place' will also include a 4,500-seat event centre, 330-room Omni Hotel, 30,000-square-foot conference centre, 500 luxury apartments, 160,000 square feet of retail and up to 200,000 square feet of office space and a new home for Arizona Interscholastic Association events.

Speaking after the board meeting which gave the green light for the venture, USA Basketball Chairman Jerry Colangelo was understandably excited by the prospect of the move.

"This is an exciting and an incredible opportunity that offers nothing but positives for USA Basketball," he said.

"USA Place will offer USA Basketball an excellent site for the development of our office headquarters, a training centre and event centre that will provide the organisation with a first-class site for hosting junior level events and will also allow USA Basketball to continue to evolve.

"The new USA Basketball headquarters and training centre will be first-class with state of the art facilities - something I know we will be very proud of."

The mixed-use plan created by Future Cities, also emphasises walkable urban neighbourhoods with four- and five-story residential units above retail shops, restaurants and services.

Having been based in Colorado Springs since January 1979, USA Basketball is expected to relocate to its new national headquarters and training centre at USA Place in the second half of 2015.

The new multi-court event centre will serve as the training site for USA Basketball primarily in the summer months and for regional youth and adult recreational and competitive athletics programming for the remainder of the year.

In addition to USA Basketball, the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) will host programming at USA Place and plans for end-of-season state high school tournaments to be held there. High schools will also have an opportunity to participate in regular season 'Games-of-the-Week' there.

The $350 million mixed-use commercial development plan is subject to final approval by Tempe City Council and Arizona Board of Regents.

FIBA