Leaving but staying: The ACC headquarters are headed to Charlotte, departing Greensboro

The conference has been in the Gate City since 1953

(Karl B. DeBlaker / AP Photo)

The Atlantic Coast Conference is relocating its headquarters but remaining in its home state of North Carolina.

The league announced Tuesday it would move its offices from Greensboro — the city where it was founded in 1953 — to downtown Charlotte in 2023.

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In a news release, the league said it will use the 2022-23 academic year as a transition period for the relocation. The league cited criteria in a review aided by an outside agency such as location within the Eastern time zone, population trends, access to a large hub airport for accessibility to all 15 league schools and financial considerations.

“The Board also recognizes and expresses our thanks for what has been a truly wonderful relationship with Greensboro over the last 70 years, and we appreciate the support shown by the state of North Carolina to have the league office remain in the state,” Duke president and board chair Vincent E. Price said in a statement. “We are grateful to the city of Charlotte and look forward to a flourishing partnership.”

Commissioner Jim Phillips had been discussing the possibility since last year after taking over for the retiring John Swofford. At the ACC’s men’s basketball media day last October, Phillips had said the ACC’s school presidents and chancellors had inquired about the future of the league’s headquarters during his interview process.

At the time, Phillips said the options included remaining in Greensboro in an office located along Interstate 85 outside of downtown and near the Grandover Resort and Spa.

The league’s North Carolina roots had become a topic of discussion as the league has expanded in recent decades to 15 basketball members stretched along the entire Eastern seaboard and west into Kentucky and Indiana.