Delay in address changes
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLA. • Five national governing bodies of Olympic sports will be delayed at least three months in their move to downtown Colorado Springs.
Delays in the conversion of a former Colorado Springs Utilities building will force U.S. Olympic Committee-sanctioned associations for badminton, boxing, judo, taekwondo and weightlifting to remain at the Olympic Training Center until March or April.
The renovated building at 30 S. Cimino Drive, leased to the Colorado Springs-based USOC from the city for $1 a year, was supposed to be finished by Dec. 15. The existing building at the OTC is scheduled to be demolished by Dec. 15, 2009.
"I'm just happy to have a roof over my head," USA Badminton chief executive officer Dan Cloppas said during the U.S. Olympic Assembly.
Hoops location in limbo
USA Basketball hasn't decided whether it will stay in Colorado Springs or move to Glendale, Ariz., or Louisville, Ky., executive director Jim Tooley said.
Indianapolis pulled out of the running in May. Tooley expects the USA Basketball executive committee to pick a suitor by Jan. 1.
Asked if there's a front-runner, Tooley said, "We've been talking a lot with Glendale. ... Staying in Colorado Springs is an option."
TV network developing
The USOC expects to announce a partner or a group of partners for its TV network within the next three months.
The U.S. Olympic Network won't launch until next year. The cable channel will feature news updates, archival footage and live coverage of events such as national championships, world championships and Olympic trials.
"It would be possible to do it in 2008," USOC chief operating officer Norman Bellingham said. "If we want to do this right, we need to establish who our partners are."
Judo inquiry completed
The USOC has concluded an inquiry into claims that a former judo coach drugged and sexually molested several of his athletes, forwarding recommendations to USA Judo, spokesman Darryl Seibel said.
Fletcher Thornton of Middletown, Calif., resigned from the USA Judo board in July before The New York Times published a story revealing 1981 and 2005 affidavits that detailed inappropriate conduct. Thornton denied wrongdoing.
