COLORADO SPRINGS — With 365 days until the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, Colorado Springs is preparing to host several national sporting events for National Governing Bodies (NGB) this year.
Davis Tutt, the Director of Sports Tourism and Olympic Engagement for the Colorado Springs Sports Corporation, said 2025 will be a big year for NGB events in Colorado Springs. The city is set to host the U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships at the Broadmoor World Arena, the USA Weightlifting National Championships at the Ed Robson Arena, three USA Cycling championships at the Velodrome, and the USA Wrestling "King and Queen of the Mountain" championship.
Tutt said hundreds of cities around the country often bid on bringing these sporting events to their facilities, making for a competitive landscape.
"Every one of these cities has funding mechanisms that they use to convince these organizations to put their events in their cities," said Tutt. "My job as the head of the Sports Commission is to pitch Colorado Springs as a destination for sports and sports tourism-related events."
He said having the title of Olympic City USA is a great benefit when pitching to NGBs, but having strong funding is essential. Colorado Springs uses its Lodgers and Automobile Rental Tax (LART), which is a 2% tax on lodging and a 1% tax on auto rentals in the city, to fund special events and draw visitors to the Pikes Peak region. City of Colorado Springs LART documents show the city has $10,687,000 available in LART funds to spend in 2025.
This year, the city approved $200,000 to go toward Olympic-related sporting events in the city, including:
- $75,000 for the 2025 US Synchronized Skating Championships
- $100,000 for the USA Weightlifting National Championships Week
- $25,000 for the US Open Taekwondo Hanmadang
"It's money that's then getting reinvested in the facilities or equipment rentals or things that are going to help put the event on," said Tutt.
Hosting these sporting events also comes with an economic boost for the area, as tourists spend money at businesses and stay at hotels.
"Sports tourism is one of the main drivers of general tourism, because, you know, somebody may not come to Colorado Springs just on a normal vacation, but they'll come here for a sports tournament, and then they'll parlay it on and stay afterwards," said Tutt.
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Union workers at King Soopers stores in Pueblo are set to go on strike on Friday
The announcement came from Local 7 President Kim Kordova on Thursday during a news conference, according to Scripps News Denver.
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