Nike has renamed its world headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon to honor its co-founder Phil Knight who built the company from its deep roots in running to a corporate powerhouse.
CEO Elliott Hill revealed in an email to staff on Tuesday that the facility will now be known as Philip H. Knight Campus.
“This is more than a name change,” Hill’s message read “It’s a tribute to the man whose vision created a global movement. And it’s a reminder — to every one of us who will walk these paths and run these fields — of what can happen when belief meets action.”
The campus, made up of over a dozen buildings initially on around 400 acres, has expanded numerous times since its first phase opened in 1990 and each building was named after athletes influential to the company like Michael Jordan and Steve Prefontaine.
Newer additions, like a sports research facility, opened in 2021 with LeBron James’ namesake while a building bearing Serena Williams’ name focuses on design and creative projects.
The headquarters now has just over 40 building across the campus
Knight and his former college coach Bill Bowerman founded Nike in 1964 as a running-focused brand that later expanded across the sports landscape. The company started as a distributor for Onitsuka Tiger and sold running shoes at track meets. When Knight lost the rights to sell Onitsuka products after a dispute in 1971, Bowerman’s shoe designs positioned Nike on a trajectory that leaned heavily on running to further establish the brand.
The company expanded into apparel in 1979 but catapulted its sales and position in pop culture after signing Jordan in 1984 as the fortunes of the company and basketball icon seemingly rose together.
Knight revealed in 2015 that he was stepping down as chairman of Nike and officially departed the company in 2016
The company will host a formal ceremony to mark the renaming next spring.
