A surprise Valentine’s Day gift to the Colorado Springs Olympic Museum has brought the project closer to a reality.
On Tuesday Feb. 14, the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) gave the developing Colorado Springs Olympic museum a boost towards becoming a reality. The DDA announced that it would donate an additional $775,000 to the project. Combined with the $225,000 the DDA has already given for a feasibility study, the group’s investment in the project has now reached $1 million.Organizers of the museum announced in January that the project was $6.5 million short of its goal. This goal must be met by March 31st in order to break ground on the City of Champions project in spring 2017. The museum has now received more than $41 million in private donation commitments which, combined with bond proceeds expected to amount to $26.2 million, means the project has about $68 million of the needed $75 million.The Colorado Springs Olympic Museum is expected to be a 60,000-sq-ft showcase of the history of US Olympics and Paralympics. The plan is to build the facility on a 1.7-acre piece of donated land and Vermijo Avenue and Sierra Madre Street in southwest downtown Colorado Springs.There are two other projects still in the works as part of the City of Champions initiative: a new Air Force Academy visitors’ center, and a sports medicine and performance center at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. Another project, a downtown sports and events center, may unfortunately be on its deathbed as it appears to be unacceptable as a part of the City for Champions project. The center has been a part of the initiative since 2013, and Mayor Suthers has said that the project has not been ruled out completely in the future. It appears that the center will be replaced in the City for Champions initiative by the National Museum of World War II Aviation.
By submitting your email, you agree to our terms and privacy notice. You can opt out at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply.
