6 minute read
Sports Economy: Olympic City USA - Here to Stay
By Keri Khan, Staff Writer
Colorado Springs may have adopted the nickname Olympic City USA only nine years ago, but the thriving sports economy which makes the city deserving of that title has been in the making for nearly half a century.
In 1978, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) moved from New York to Colorado Springs and unveiled the nation’s first U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center. A year later, Colorado Springs Sports Corporation (CSSC) was established to advance the city and promote tourism through sport.
Became a Hotbed for Amateur Sports
Fast forward to 2024; Colorado Springs has invested in the USOPC’s presence to build an entire ecosystem around it, with world-class facilities sought by organizations, tourists and athletes the world over.
Today, 26 of the country’s 50 National Governing Bodies (NGBs) have a Colorado Springs mailing address – the same number as 2021, when Megan Leatham first became CEO of CSSC.
“If you look at all the NGBs across the nation, there is only one other town that has multiple NGBs. It’s Indianapolis; and they have three,” Leatham says.
Her group is currently working with the city on the possibility of relocating the World Dodgeball Federation here from Canada. Additionally, they are actively working on other NGB relocation opportunities.
Olympic City USA is also home to the U.S. Antidoping Agency, four international sports federations, multiple non-Olympic groups and three collegiate athletic programs.
“I think it’s incredibly important for us to be in Colorado Springs because that’s where the Olympic movement is. That’s where the vast majority of NGBs are,” says USA Archery CEO Rod Menzer. “It would just not make sense for us to go anywhere else. There’s literally a good business reason to be there.”
USOPC’s VP for Strategic Communications Jon Mason echoes that statement when he explains that the USOPC has had no conversations about relocating.
“This is a community that’s made a commitment to celebrating Olympic and Paralympic sports which is certainly why the USOPC and so many NGBs call it home. And then there is the idea of supporting sport in the community and the great work of Sports Corp and Visit Colorado Springs. They’ve encouraged the idea of people coming here to celebrate sport, to practice sport… There’s something for everyone here.”
Brings Significant Economic Impact
When the city entered a 30-year economic development agreement with the USOPC back in 2009 to the tune of $31.47 million, it cemented itself as a bucket list destination for event organizers.
“The International Jump Rope Union brought approximately 22,000 room nights last summer to us with an estimated economic impact of about $9 million,” says President and CEO of Visit Colorado Springs Doug Price. “They wanted to come specifically to Olympic City USA to show the Olympic movement that jump rope someday should be an Olympic sport. They knew there was no place better to showcase.”
Last year, CSSC’s 59 owned or promoted events brought 25,035 athletes with 52,277 room nights and over $100 million in economic impact. The 2023 Colorado Juniors Sparkler Softball Tournament poured an estimated $12 million into the local economy.
Inspired by Olympic City USA branding, the City for Champions project further promoted COS as a sports hub with the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum, Weidner Field, Ed Robson Arena, William Hybl Sports Medicine & Performance Center and the soon-to-be-completed USAFA Gateway Visitor Center.
Team USA Athletes Train Around the World
The Colorado Springs Olympic & Paralympic Training Center is one of only two in the country, with the other being in Lake Placid, N.Y.
While Colorado Springs saw more than 10,000 athletes utilize its world-class aquatics center, multiple gymnasiums, velodrome, dining hall and dorms for 600 rehab or training camps last year, it’s not unusual for NGBs to implement programs in cities other than where they’re headquartered.
“The NCAA pipeline is the reason why the USA wins so many gold medals and there are colleges with Team USA athletes all over our nation” says CSSP’s Leatham.
USA Swimming’s athletes, for instance, often train at their colleges. USA Cycling is headquartered in Colorado Springs but operates a European logistics base in the Netherlands, and a satellite office in
Bentonville, Ark. USA Archery, which leases space alongside USA Fencing in the USA Cycling-owned building, hosts tournaments and camps in various locations but most archers train at home or in their local clubs.
Rumors have circulated that USA Archery was amongst a handful of NGBs moving to the new U.S. Performance Center in Charlotte, NC. However, CEO Menzer tells the The Digest that USA Archery moved nothing from Colorado Springs, but instead utilized resources to implement a new complimentary program in North Carolina.
Also, USA Taekwondo recently relocated its high performance department and 12 full-time athletes to a resident training program in Charlotte because of the resources available there to develop even more athletes, but the group’s events and finance departments are still headquartered here in Olympic City USA.
USOPC’s Mason says, “In addition to the teams and athletes based here in Colorado Springs, or accessing the resources available at the OPTC, there are athletes overseas for large amounts of the year, athletes on college campuses across the country, and athletes that are in population centers that are important to their sport.”
Though athletes train around the world, NGBs still regularly choose Colorado Springs as a go-to location for major events, with at least 17 Olympic or NGB-related events in Colorado Springs last year, including the U.S. Figure Skating ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships at the Broadmoor World Arena and USA Weightlifting’s National Championships Week at Robson Arena.
Celebrate the Olympic Spirit this Summer
Sports fans are welcome to check out training center facilities by booking tours at teamusa.com/ visit. Another way to get in the Olympic spirit is to visit with NGBs and other exhibits during Downtown Summer Fest (coloradospringssports. org/events/summer-fest) on July 27 where residents can rally behind Team USA and help kick off the Paris 2024 Games, from right here in Olympic City USA.
