With Mayor Bach soon to step aside, City For Champions downtown stadium proposal remains in question

Controversy has surrounded City for Champions in Colorado Springs since the project was first proposed more than a year ago.

Its champion, Mayor Steve Bach, will only be in charge for a few more months and the proposal for a downtown stadium remains very much up in the air.

“The question has to do with the downtown sports and events center,” Bach said. “That needs to be fully vetted. It could take another year or two.”

That phase of the project is currently partly funded by local taxpayer dollars. But an amendment to the city’s constitution, taking the stadium to the voters in April, was delayed last month.

“None of us have been really briefed upon it,” City Council President Keith King said. “We were not involved and we have not been engaged and involved up until now.”

King believes with a new mayor a dialogue between city leaders will now take place.

“It’s going to be a whole different phase,” King predicted. “It’s going to evolve into something it should have been originally, something that is part of the community discussion.”

A visitors center at the Air Force Academy, a sports performance center at UCCS and an Olympic museum are all funded by state dollars. Those projects are moving forward as planned.