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COLORADO SPRINGS – We’re now getting a better idea of what’s been going on behind the scenes between the City of Colorado Springs, the US Olympic Committee and LandCo.
NEWSCHANNEL 13 obtained email correspondence from the city about the USOC negotiations and went through pages and pages of emails starting back in November 2008.Concerns about the deal turned up at least five months ago.
In November, a series of emails between the city, LandCo and Olympic Committee representatives included setting a time to, “brainstorm alternative means to secure LandCo’s $16-million obligation” to the Olympic Training Center.
January 20, USOC real estate consultant Jim Didion emailed Assistant City Manager Mike Anderson about issues, “jeopardizing the USOC/City/LandCo transactions.” Then came a letter from Mayor Lionel Rivera February 6 saying, “we remain unequivocally committed to delivering to the USOC everything that was promised.”
The letter laid out how the city would secure $13-million of the $16-million the USOC wanted to have available by May. Days later, the Didion emailed with an ultimatum. He said unless the $13-million are available to the USOC as promised in May, he’d recommend, “withdrawal from all the agreements” and advise the USOC look elsewhere.
By the end of February, another series of emails stated changes to the agreements had been made ensuring the funding for the USOC and laying out exactly where it would come from. City Councilman Jerry Heimlicher says the project is moving forward and a USOC spokesman tells NEWSCHANNEL 13 that as long as everything promised in that original deal holds true, they’re staying.
