Could Colorado Springs host the Olympics? City officials discuss impact of sport tourism on the local economy

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – The summer Olympic and Paralympic Games are only a couple months away, bringing attention to Olympic City USA.

On Monday, officials around the Pikes Peak region gathered to discuss the status of Colorado Springs’ sports economy. Leading the discussion was the CEO of the Colorado Springs Sports Corporation Megan Leatham and Vice President of Strategic Communications Jon Mason from the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee.

As they discuss the sport economy in the Springs, 11 News asked: could Colorado Springs host the Olympics?

In short, Sports Corp and city officials said not quite yet. But, they also said “never say never.”

To host the Olympics, the city would need to start with a bid for the International Olympics Committee.

Davis Tutt, the man in charge of sport tourism with Sport Corp, said there are several factors that go into a successful bid. One of these would be the ability to host events in large sport venues.

Tutt said Colorado Springs is equipped with a few venues that already bring in a lot of fans and a lot of money.

“With the addition of Ed Robson Arena over on Colorado College campus, Weidner Field, the Air Force Academy doing a bunch of renovations over the years, as well as great venues we have, whether it’s the [Olympic and Paralympic Training Center] or it’s the World Arena, we have a lot of different offerings we can provide to [National Governing Bodies] for all kinds of events,” Tutt said.

He said Colorado Springs’ infrastructure for sports has improved a lot over the years, which is something he said would be discussed Monday.

But to host the Olympics, he said the city is missing two key facilities.

“One is a city-owned, or city-managed convention center in the downtown core,” Tutt explained, “and the other is an indoor sports and event center.”

He also said the city would need to be able to provide housing for athletes who would travel to the Springs. Although the city does not currently have the ability to house the athletes who would travel, Tutt said the training center still hosts a large number of athletes who come to the Springs to train. He said in 2023, they hosted more than 10,000 athletes.

Tutt said that contributes to the local economy, with sport tourism as a whole providing a boost of more than a billion dollars.

While this is a boost, he said to host the Games, the city would need to spend between $5-10 billion.

The more realistic scenario, he said, would be Denver hosting the Winter Olympics with Colorado Springs possibly playing a part in hosting. He said hosting would be a community effort, including Vail and Breckenridge in the hosting effort.

However, Denver is the only city to successfully bid to become a host city and then turn it down. Tutt said in 1976, the city voted against hosting the Olympics.

With the next U.S.-set Games planned to be in Los Angeles in 2028, and with Salt Lake City bidding to host in 2034, Olympic City will not be hosting the Olympics anytime soon.

But, in the meantime, Sports Corp said they are still working to make the Springs a more attractive city for larger organizations to hold their games. And city officials told 11 News they are proud to be Olympic City and of the boost provided through that branding.

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