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U.S. Olympic Museum aims to raise $20M before groundbreaking early next year

The planned U.S. Olympic Museum needs to raise another $20 million to break ground, its board president said, with seven months left to sign a construction contract in time to open before the 2018 Winter Games as hoped.

After focusing its initial efforts on donors in or near Colorado Springs, Colo., where it will reside, the museum is now launching a national campaign to solicit corporate and philanthropic support, board president Richard Celeste said. Backers will host a reception in Denver on June 30 for 30 to 40 potential donors and hope to schedule similar intimate events in other cities.

The U.S. Olympic Museum would be located in or near Colorado Springs.
Photo by: DILLER, SCOFIDIO & RENFRO
The museum needs about $65 million to start construction but hopes eventually to raise $80 million to fully fund the facility, a contingency reserve and an endowment, Celeste said. It has secured about $45 million so far, including $27 million in private support and between $15 million and $20 million expected from a planned bond issuance.

Celeste wants to sign a fixed-price contract with builders by January. He called the fundraising time frame “ambitious but achievable.”

“The number of people who are thrilled by the Olympics and cherish Olympic values is considerable,” said Celeste, who was governor of Ohio from 1983-91. “And our principal effort is with folks of substantial net worth, or family and foundation people. We have only begun our conversation with Olympic sponsors, [U.S. Olympic Committee] sponsors, and so we think there’s some opportunity for some support there as well.”

The museum’s overtures to Olympic sponsors are guided by the terms of a 2014 contract with the USOC, which is independent of the museum. The 30-year deal grants the museum a license to use Olympic trademarks and imagery but also obligates the museum to submit its solicitation plans to the USOC for clearance.

Celeste said backers will approach official USOC partners first and will consider in-kind contributions. The details of this relationship are crucial; while the museum and the USOC believe they can complement each other’s mission, the USOC wants to ensure the museum doesn’t cannibalize its revenue stream for core sports operations.

“If we want to approach a sponsor for commitment, in the sports outfitting arena, then we need to go to [official USOC footwear and apparel provider] Nike and work with them, and that’s our commitment to the USOC,” Celeste said.

Also under the deal, the museum will become home to the USOC’s Hall of Fame, but the committee will retain control of hall membership. The USOC also has agreed to allow the museum to access its extensive archives for displays. If the museum operates in the black long enough to build a cash reserve, it must start paying royalties to the USOC.

The Suddes Group, a Columbus-based nonprofit fundraising consultant, is advising the museum. Private donors so far include the Anschutz Foundation, the El Pomar Foundation, the Chapman Trust and the Lyda Hill Foundation.
The museum expects to raise another $15 million to $20 million in bonds backed by tax increment financing revenue recently approved by Colorado legislators.

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