Olympic national governing bodies mull future

Several national governing bodies of Olympic sports are contemplating their future in Colorado Springs as the U.S. Olympic Committee decides whether it wants to remain.

Six NGBs will be displaced next year if the USOC follows through on plans to tear down an aging building at the Olympic Training Center. The building that serves as the headquarters for badminton, boxing, cycling, judo, taekwondo and weightlifting and houses USOC administrative staff has deteriorated and doesn’t provide adequate office space.

The most prominent NGB in the building, USA Cycling, is considering moving its 48-employee organization to Ogden, Utah, while it explores relocation options in Colorado Springs.

"It is extremely premature, however, to speculate as to when or where a move will happen,” USA Cycling communications coordinator Andy Lee said in an e-mail. “There is considerable interest from the Ogden community to relocate our national headquarters there, however, that interest has not yet materialized into anything beyond discussions at this point. We are also exploring other options and opportunities that would keep our headquarters in Colorado Springs.”

Phone messages left with Dave Hardman, president of the Ogden/Weber Chamber of Commerce, were not returned.

The USOC has said it needs 90,000 square feet of downtown office space and 200 new athlete residences to keep its administrative offices and the OTC in Colorado Springs, where it has been headquartered since 1978.

City officials asked four Colorado Springs real estate companies to submit proposals that would meet the USOC’s request. Two of the firms — Classic Cos. and Realty Development Services — had responded as of Monday.

David Askinas, chief executive officer of USA Taekwondo, said there probably won’t be an “immediate resolution” regarding the demolition of the OTC building during the U.S. Olympic Assembly — meetings of NGBs and USOC staff that begin today in Houston.

“I doubt we’ll get a final answer,” Askinas said. “It’s very rare when everything goes according to the original timetable.”

Askinas said he hopes USA Taekwondo stays at the OTC.

“We are quite settled here. We’re happy being on campus,” said Askinas, who oversees a 13-person staff. “We would like better space, but we are coping with what we have. We are not looking forward to any move, and we are not packing up.”

USA Boxing CEO Jim Millman said his organization is “in the process of considering a new home,” possibly outside of Colorado Springs. Asked if USA Boxing must be headquartered in the same city as the USOC, Millman said, “We’re not wedded to where they are.”

Dennis Snethen, interim executive director of USA Weightlifting, declined comment. USA Badminton executive director Dan Cloppas and USA Judo CEO Jose Rodriguez did not return phone messages.