Air Force Academy Gives Public Unprecedented Access to the Space Force Journey in Colorado Springs
The $65 Million Public-Private Project Will Give Future Recruits and the Public an Up-Close Look at the Cadet Journey at One of America’s Military Landmarks
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. (May 14, 2026) — The U.S. Air Force Academy and Colorado Springs, today announced the first major facility dedicated to telling the combined story of the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force. The General Bradley and Zita Hosmer Visitor Center is the most ambitious public-facing experience any U.S. service academy has opened in a generation. The 34,000-square-foot center was designed to resemble an aircraft in flight and houses immersive exhibits and tells the 47-month journey of Air Force Academy cadets.
The Hosmer Center opens in a milestone year for the country and for the state that has hosted the Academy since 1958. The United States marks its 250th anniversary in 2026 and Colorado celebrates its sesquicentennial, or its 150th year in the Union. The opening also lands at a moment of surging national interest in America’s military legacy and the institutions that shape its future officers. It will welcome future recruits from across the country into one of the nation’s most-visited military landmarks.
Developed within a 57‑acre public‑private site, the roughly $65 million Hosmer Visitor Center was funded through a partnership among the U.S. Air Force Academy, the City of Colorado Springs, the State of Colorado, and private developers. The facility was conveyed to the Academy as a gift‑in‑kind under an Enhanced Use Lease, a federal mechanism that allows the Department of Defense to expand infrastructure without the use of congressional appropriations.
“The U.S. Air Force Academy is among the most‑visited military installations in the nation, welcoming nearly one million visitors from across the United States and around the world each year,” said Johnna Reeder Kleymeyer, president and CEO of the Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC. “This new visitor center places those visitors face‑to‑face with the innovation shaping the Air Force and Space Force today; and stands as a national example of what a city and a service branch can achieve through long‑term partnership and shared investment.”
The Hosmer Visitor Center is a national destination designed to bring the legacy of the Long Blue Line and the evolving missions of the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force, to a broad public audience. The facility redefines the service‑academy visitor experience by offering:
- A major service-academy experience built for the Space Force era: Conceived and built after the Space Force’s establishment in 2019, the center presents the Air Force and Space Force together through an integrated narrative that reflects the future of American air and space power.
- A firsthand introduction to service and the Long Blue Line: The Polaris Star interactive display lets visitors explore Air Force and Space Force career paths, while listening stations bring the services’ core values to life in cadets’ own voices.
- A 47-month story, told as cadets live it: Themed galleries follow cadets from in-processing through graduation and commissioning, weaving together academics, athletics, military training and research.
- A landmark atrium designed as a defining arrival experience: A soaring central space, featuring a suspended training glider and architectural forms inspired by the Cadet Chapel, frames views of the Front Range and signals the Academy’s role at the intersection of heritage and innovation.
The center is the largest project to come online under City for Champions, the regional tourism and economic development initiative Colorado Springs assembled in 2013. It is named in honor of Lt. Gen. Bradley Hosmer, the Academy’s first graduate to return as Superintendent, and his wife Zita. Read more about it here.