More than March Madness: no limits to Colorado Springs’ sports economy
March Madness is in full swing – and from top picks to Cinderella stories, everyone has their favorite team. In Colorado Springs, it’s a full court press as USA Basketball nears completion of its new headquarters in the center of downtown.
In Colorado Springs since 1979, USA Basketball is in good company among 23 total national governing bodies and the headquarters of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee.
About their soon-to-be-revealed new headquarters, USA Basketball’s CEO Jim Tooley said in a press release, “it will offer our organization a new first-class, state-of-the-art office to meet our growth and be located in the heart of downtown Colorado Springs. With Colorado Springs known as Olympic City USA … as well as the future home of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum, this is where USA Basketball needs to be.”
The new headquarters, which will be located on the first floor of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee complex, is a part of a $620 million surge of development in downtown Colorado Springs.
With 59 national and international sports organizations, Colorado Springs is the epicenter of an extensive sports industry, with sport product manufacturers and training companies operating within the region, generating $400 million toward the area’s annual economy.
International sports events add another degree to Colorado Springs’ elevated sports environment. In 2018, Salomon announced that the Pikes Peak Marathon, an annual running race to the top of the mountain and down, has been added to the international Golden Trail Series, which includes events in France, Scotland, Switzerland, Spain, and South Africa. Haute Route, which recently located its North American headquarters in Colorado Springs, will hold the Mavic Rockies, a multi-day cycling event that will start in Boulder, Colo., and finish at the top of Pikes Peak.
Winter or summer, in an ice arena, a velodrome or on the trail, Colorado Springs’ high-performing sports industry knows no limits.