Some U.S. Olympic leaders believe "building a downtown museum and improving the airport" are two ideas that are "good for Colorado Springs," according to Joe Paisley of the Colorado Springs GAZETTE. Xerox Chair & CEO and USOC BOD member Ursula Burns said, "The USOC headquarters is here. We need, desire, and require that Colorado Springs be a premier city. Increasing tourism is a very good idea but being able to get here is very important. Colorado Springs is like a lot of small cities that are dealing with the problems of getting here." City and business leaders are "working to increase the number and lower the cost of flights in and out of the struggling Colorado Springs Airport after Denver-based Frontier Airlines left in April." Complementing a "healthier airport would be a stronger downtown, which would benefit the USOC national headquarters," which moved there in '10. USOC Chair Larry Probst said, "An Olympic museum is certainly a good idea. I think it makes sense for downtown and is an important part of the overall package." The Colorado Office of Economic Development and Int'l Trade will decide on the city's $218.6M "City for Champions proposal to develop four tourism-related projects." Those projects are a "downtown baseball/multiuse stadium, a U.S. Olympic museum, a University of Colorado-Colorado Springs sports medicine and performance center, and a new Air Force Academy visitors center." A decision is "expected in December" (Colorado Springs GAZETTE, 10/11).
