COLORADO SPRINGS — Weightlifter Natalie Woolfolk was getting her hair done at a Colorado Springs salon when her stylist said something that both shocked and unnerved her.
“Have you heard about the move?” the stylist asked, referring to news that the U.S. Olympic Committee might leave town after a 30-year presence in the shadow of Pikes Peak.
“I said, ‘Huh? What move?”‘ Woolfolk said.
Ever since the Olympic Training Center opened in 1977 under the direction of two-time Olympic decathlon gold medalist Bob Mathias, followed by the relocation of USOC administrative offices from New York City a year later, Colorado’s second-largest city has held the Olympic rings close to its heart.
The 1980 “Miracle” hockey team was selected here. Apolo Ohno, Rulon Gardner and countless other Olympic heroes trained here.
“I think it’s sort of ingrained in the culture of the town,” said Eli Bremer, a modern pentathlete who grew up here and never left. “You walk around the city and you see people everywhere wearing the Olympic rings.”
Could Colorado Springs really lose the USOC? For the right price, apparently yes, as other cities are making their push. But Colorado Springs will put up a fight.
“People know Colorado Springs for being the amateur sports capital of the United States,” Mayor Lionel Rivera said. “That’s something that we treasure, and that we don’t intend to lose.”
The USOC’s 35-acre facility in central Colorado Springs, built on the site of the former Ent Air Force Base, is the primary training site for more than 200 Olympic hopefuls, with hundreds more passing through for various camps, competitions, rehabilitations and fitness evaluations throughout the year. The USOC’s administrative offices are located here. Twenty of the 39 National Governing Bodies – which administer individual Olympic sports – are headquartered at the OTC complex or elsewhere in the Springs.
“I got elected to office in April 2003,” Rivera said. “Immediately, some community leaders came to me and said, ‘Mayor, whatever you do, the USOC has to stay in Colorado Springs.’ To say we aren’t concerned that someone might try to recruit the headquarters away from Colorado Springs would be a mistake. We are always concerned about bigger cities trying to pluck strategic and important community assets from Colorado Springs.”
Three areas of need
But the USOC has to do what it deems best for its athletes, and the challenges it faces are daunting. China and Russia are becoming increasingly competitive in the medal count. Smaller countries that can’t challenge the superpowers in overall medals target specific sports in which they can rack up medals – South Korea in gymnastics and speedskating, for example, or Austria and Norway in skiing.
With no federal funding, the USOC is constantly looking at expanding its training facilities. It also wants to create its own TV outlet – the U.S. Olympic Network – and improve its presence on the Internet. That means the USOC needs a lot more space. Some of its NGBs do, too.
Something has to give, because the Colorado Springs facilities are located on landlocked property bounded by two busy thoroughfares, a major hospital and a residential area.
The USOC has hired real estate consultant Jim Didion to examine ways to meet its demand for more space. Didion reportedly met recently with officials in Chicago, which is the U.S. bid city for the 2016 Summer Games. He’s not doing media interviews, but it’s safe to assume he has looked at other cities as well.
With the massive investment in facilities and equipment in Colorado Springs, and the constant imperative to be frugal, it’s unlikely the training center would be moved. Much more likely is that administrators are transferred to another city that offers better office space.
“We are evaluating our needs and how best to address those needs longterm,” USOC spokesman Darryl Seibel said. “Specifically we are looking at our needs in three areas: athlete training, administrative headquarters needs that some of our National Governing Bodies might have, and our own administrative headquarters needs.”
With much of the Colorado Springs training occurring in massive buildings known as Sports Center 1 and Sports Center 2, the USOC would like to build Sports Center 3 to accommodate its growing needs. The only way to do that on the existing property would be to demolish buildings at the southwest corner that currently house USOC staff and some NGBs. They could move to downtown Colorado Springs, or to another city.
“There’s only so much flexibility we have with the existing footprint at the Olympic Training Center,” Seibel said. “That said, this is a terrific facility. Our analysis is in no way prompted by any sense of dissatisfaction or unhappiness with our situation in Colorado Springs. We have a terrific situation here and we’ve enjoyed incredible support from this community, going back to the late ’70s when the training center first opened.”
Slightly behind the times
Some of the NGBs are housed in a building constructed in 1925 to serve as a hospital and morgue for the city. What was once the morgue now houses USOC media archives – and maybe a few ghosts.
“There’s been multiple occurrences throughout the history of the training center that people reported hauntings,” said Mike English, managing director for athlete facilities and services. “It’s something I probably wouldn’t walk into late at night.”
English is charged with making the most of the space at his disposal. Fencers once were constantly being moved from place to place around the property until English hit on the idea to give them their own area – in what used to be a kitchen.
Wrestlers work out in a claustrophobic room with three mats, a low ceiling and a row of pillars down the center. The wrestling room must accommodate three teams – men’s and women’s freestyle, plus the male-only Greco-Roman team.
“We probably need double that space,” English said. “The challenge there is, as we go from practice to practice to practice – three changeovers throughout the day – there is some significant concern over sanitary conditions. We go through a very stringent protocol on mat safety, which takes time out of the day.”
Another concern is housing, which is becoming more complicated now, with the average age of U.S. Olympic athletes in the late 20s. Dorm rooms may be fine for recent college grads, but they don’t work so well for married athletes. Thus, the USOC would like to add housing for couples.
“I think we’re behind the times,” English said. “Parts of the rest of the world, especially our competitors, have figured out how to accommodate the married athlete. We need to do that.”
Rivera said the USOC has given city officials its requirements, in terms of office space and additional housing, and they are working to meet them.
“Everything they have asked us to look at, we’ve come back and said, ‘Here’s how we’ll do it,”‘ Rivera said. “They’ve laid out their specific needs and we’re going to meet them.”
Woolfolk can’t imagine training anywhere else. Her residence hall is connected to the building that houses the dining hall, meaning on a cold day she can head down there for breakfast in her PJs if she feels like it.
One wall is decorated with pictures of resident athletes who have won Olympic medals. There’s also one plaque that says “Beijing 2008” – with a mirror instead of a photo.
“This is the best place to be,” Woolfolk said. “Absolutely hands-down, the best. I get to train with elite athletes that push me every day. I get a great coach. I get great food. Everything is right here for me to train well.”
Olympic village
The U.S. Olympic Training Center, by the numbers:
Buildings: 29 on 35 acres
Altitude: 6,100 feet
Location: 1 1/2 miles east of downtown Colorado Springs
Sports Center 1: A 57,000-square- foot facility with six gymnasiums.
Sports Center 2: A 52,490-square- foot facility that houses three gymnasiums.
Aquatics Center: A 42,843-square- foot facility.
Shooting Center: The largest indoor shooting facility in the Western Hemisphere (49,820 square feet).
Dormitories: Five residence halls (515 beds) for housing resident athletes and visiting athletes.
Athlete Center: Includes a dining hall that can seat 250 at a time and serve up to 1,700 meals per day.
National Governing Bodies: Of the 39 National Governing Bodies (for individual sports) within the USOC, 20 are located in Colorado Springs and half of those are housed on the OTC property.
USOC staff: 281 work on the training center property.
Visitors: 120,000 per year.
USOC annual budget: $125 million.
John Meyer: 303-954-1616 or jmeyer@denverpost.com
