Go Daddy opens major new facility in Tempe

TEMPE, Ariz. — Go Daddy cut the ribbon on a major new facility in Tempe on Tuesday.

The company’s new 150,000-square-foot Global Technology Center opened after 17 months of construction in the Arizona State University Research Park campus near Warner Road and the Loop 101.

Go Daddy CEO Blake Irving said the design behind the center was as much about fun as it was work.

“It’s a facility that’s unlike any other, frankly I think that’s in Arizona or maybe even technology,” he said. “We’ve got amenities that are employee-friendly, like a gym, a weight room, climbing wall, a slide, a great facility for having lunch and bringing families in … it’s just a great place to get work done.”

The center will eventually house more than 1,100 employees of varying specialties such as engineers, small business consultants and developers, Irving said.

He said creating a fun work environment is important to the company and that a fun environment helps increase productivity.

“Work life and home life have sort of blended over the last decade with the advent of mobile technology,” Irving said. “We know that happy employees are productive employees, we know that healthy employees are productive employees.”

The center’s open environment design and visible workstations also help increase productivity by encouraging collaboration amongst employees.

Tempe Mayor Mark Mitchell said he’s glad GoDaddy chose Tempe for the new location because it shows the investment the city has made in bringing technology industries to the city.

“Close to 20 percent of all business in Tempe are tech-related, we do have the highest concentration of tech-related companies of any city in the Valley,” he said. “It’s not by accident. It’s something that the council as well as our staff have worked really hard on to attract those knowledge-based companies to our community and you’re seeing that with Go Daddy here. LifeLock is based here as well.”