USOC's price to stay in city: free space

The US Olympic Committee wants free office space if it’s to keep its headquarters in Colorado Springs, according to a document the city released Wednesday.

“It’s important to the USOC to own its headquarters facility without any acquisition costs, either initially or through a lease structure,” USOC consultant James Didion wrote to a city staffer. “We’re fully prepared to be responsible for ongoing operations costs in our building, but we’re not capable of funding a lease, or any acquisition cost in a purchase.”

The USOC’s request is spelled out in an e-mail that was one of several documents released Wednesday by the City Attorney’s Office in response to a Gazette lawsuit filed last month. That lawsuit sought access to correspondence between the USOC and city under the Colorado Open Records Act.

The city also released a document it sent to four local real estate developers, asking them to submit proposals on how they could address the USOC’s needs for new facilities.

The documents are part of the city’s talks with the USOC, which said last month it was evaluating proposals to possibly move its headquarters to other cities.

The USOC says it has no timetable to make a decision about whether to move out of the Springs, where it’s been since 1978. Mayor Lionel Rivera has said he expects a decision by year’s end, although he’s denied rumors an announcement is imminent.

In releasing documents Wednesday, however, Springs officials refused to release the proposal they submitted to the USOC that spells out how it would meet the organization’s needs. Disclosing details of their bid would harm the public because other cities would learn about the offer and outbid the city to woo the USOC, Springs officials say.

The city also won’t disclose which local developers were asked to submit proposals to respond to the USOC’s needs. Three of those developers — Classic Cos., Realty Development Services and Griffis/Blessing Inc. — have told The Gazette they responded. The fourth is LandCo Equity Partners, according to people who know about the list. Land-Co has declined comment.

The Gazette continues to press its lawsuit in 4th Judicial District Court, and a hearing is scheduled for Nov. 30.

At issue for Colorado Springs is how to keep the USOC. In addition to its headquarters, the USOC has operated one of its three Olympic Training Centers in the Springs since 1977.

The USOC, which oversees the nation’s Olympic movement, generates about $316 million a year in local economic impact, according to one Springs economist.

The organization also boosts the Springs’ image and economic-development efforts, civic leaders have said.

The USOC operates out of facilities at Boulder Street and Union Boulevard, on the 34-acre site of the former Ent Air Force Base. USOC offices are aging and dilapidated. But moving its offices elsewhere would free up room for expansion of the Olympic Training Center.

In an Aug. 28 letter, Didion told Rivera and the City Council that the USOC needs 90,000 square feet of administrative office space and 200 housing units for athletes who train here. Didion, former chairman of national real estate giant CB Richard Ellis, is heading the USOC’s effort to upgrade its facilities.

Providing those facilities, along with 40,000 square feet of space in a former Colorado Springs Utilities building that’s envisioned to become a home for amateur sports groups, “would substantially resolve the long-term needs of the USOC,” Didion wrote. He added the city’s response would “put the Committee in a position to consider its affiliation with the City of Colorado Springs on a more than equal footing” with other cities.

In his Aug. 28 letter, Didion also suggested the evaluation of proposals could be completed within “the next 60 to 90 days.” Land planning firm EDAW also was hired to review the Olympic Training Center campus and “develop a master plan for the training site, incorporating a substantial new housing component to house additional athletes, staff, and occasional visitors,” Didion said.

Didion couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday.

On Sept. 6, USOC Chief Executive Officer Jim Scherr sent a note to Rivera, El Pomar Foundation Chairman Bill Hybl and Springs real estate developer Jeff Smith, who heads Classic Cos. and has championed new facilities for the USOC.

In his note, Scherr said unidentified individuals in Colorado Springs had attempted to “discourage” an effort by Denver to draw the USOC, which he says prompted Denver to scrap its proposal.

“As a result,” Scherr said in his note, “I am informing you that because of Denver’s withdrawal, the United States Olympic Committee will seek to widen its process and seek proposals from other interested cities to include the possibility of a national request for proposals.”

Rivera said Wednesday he never contacted Denver officials, and was told by Hybl and Smith they didn’t do so, either. Neither Hybl nor Smith could be reached for comment.

Tom Clark, executive vice president of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp., said Denver never withdrew its proposal because it never submitted one.

Two years ago, the Metro Denver EDC submitted plans to the USOC that explained how Denver could meet its needs for office space, a hall of fame and other facilities, Clark said.

The USOC never responded, Clark said. This fall, the USOC contacted the Metro Denver EDC and asked for a proposal. But, Clark said, Denver officials decided to support Colorado Springs’ effort, and chose not to revive their twoyear-old plan.

Rivera said he’s confident the Springs has submitted a proposal that will meet USOC needs, and he wasn’t worried about Scherr’s rebuke.

Scherr couldn’t be reached for comment.

USOC spokesman Darryl Seibel said Wednesday he had nothing to add to Scherr’s letter, other than to say it was meant as a message that the USOC wants to conduct its evaluation of proposals without help. Colorado Springs hasn’t harmed itself in the bidding process because of Denver’s withdrawal, he added.

“We had hoped Colorado Springs would submit a proposal,” Seibel said. “It has, and that proposal is being given very careful consideration. The proposal from Colorado Springs is very much a part of the mix.”

How many more cities were added to the list of suitors bidding on the USOC after Scherr’s letter? Seibel said he couldn’t say. ONLINE > USOC SAGA