Adidas announced Friday that it has purchased an office building next to its North Portland campus, reflecting the continued growth over the past year at the company's North American headquarters.



The acquisition reflects the regional hub's growing work force, which is now 1,200 employees, up from about 850 last year. Also, the Portland office has more than 100 job openings.



"We are growing," Adidas Group North America President Mark King said in a statement. "Our business is up, we're seizing opportunity and we're expanding our visibility in America. Our rapid growth is driven by our aspiration to be the face of sports culture in America."



The Adidas brand reported an 11 percent growth in North America in the third quarter and was up 8 percent for the first 9 months.





The new space, located on the west side of North Greeley Avenue just north of the Adidas Village is 25,000 square feet and will house approximately 150 employees. The village will expand from five buildings on 11 acres to six buildings on more than 14 acres.



"We are creating an internal culture of innovation to drive large-scale change," King said in the statement. "Innovation has always been at the heart of Adidas - focused on product. Today, our employees in North America are taking that innovative direction and applying it across the business. Our employees are ideating, innovating and going after big ideas. Everyone has shared ownership of our company's future."



That effort got a boost last year when the German sports footwear and apparel company moved creative director Paul Gaudio from its Herzogenaurach headquarters near Munich to Portland. At about the same time, King and other Adidas officials have emphasized the importance of growing the brand's sales and relevance in North America.



The expansion announced Friday also builds on growth of two of Adidas' top competitors. Nike is in the midst of a massive expansion at its World Headquarters near Beaverton and Under Armour, which has occupied part of a North Park Blocks office building for about two years, plans to move into the former YMCA building south of downtown Portland.

-- Allan Brettman