Mayor 'cautiously optimistic' USOC will stay in Springs

Mayor Lionel Rivera said Thursday he is “cautiously optimistic” the U.S. Olympic Committee will accept a revised proposal by Colorado Springs leaders and keep its headquarters in the city.

The USOC, considering Colorado Springs and two unnamed locations for its new headquarters, has received some of the information it requested from Colorado Springs officials since its 11-person board met Feb. 22 in Atlanta.

It wants “bulletproof” financial guarantees, according to USOC chairman Peter Ueberroth, whose organization will next assemble May 14 in Washington.

“I guess there are different levels of bulletproof,” Rivera said at City Hall after a USA Boxing event. “Before their board meeting, we gave them exactly what we were asked to give them. During their board meeting, they decided they needed to have more details, and we’re working on those.

“We’re going to give them exactly what they need. We think we have a tremendous proposal. We’re cautiously optimistic we’ll keep them in Colorado Springs and elevate them to a new presence.”

Rivera declined to discuss additional information Colorado Springs officials gave the USOC and wouldn’t say what else they must provide.

USOC chief executive officer Jim Scherr said, “I don’t think I’d leave it just to the aspects of the financial arrangement or the contracts or the guarantees. It was related to all aspects of the deal.”

Scherr said the USOC hasn’t set a timetable for a decision but is “closer than where we were” in Atlanta. He said California real estate consultant James Didion is continuing to work for the USOC.

Asked about a timetable, Rivera said, “We want to get this concluded as quickly as possible, and I think they do, too. I’m hopeful we can get everything done and a decision made way before May.”

Rivera declined comment when asked whether buildings at Tejon Street and Colorado Avenue were part of the Colorado Springs offer.

A proposed LandCo Equity Partners project called Stratton Pointe is the most plausible option for the USOC and some of the 20 national governing bodies of Olympic sports with offices in Colorado Springs, businesspersons familiar with talks between city officials and the USOC told The Gazette last month.

The other two proposals are from Chicago — Sears Tower and Navy Pier on Lake Michigan, a Chicago business publication reported last month. Chicago is the U.S. candidate to host the 2016 Summer Olympics.

A major economic contributor, the USOC has been headquartered in Colorado Springs since 1978, when it moved from New York City. Some of its administrative buildings at the Olympic Training Center are falling apart, and meeting space is limited for about 330 employees.

“I can’t imagine us ever letting the USOC leave,” Rivera said. “They’ve been part of our community for 30 years. We want to keep them here for at least 30 more.”

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