One year after uncovering athlete exodus, we ask the mayor: Is ‘Olympic City U.S.A.’ still working?

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- It's been over a year since 13 Investigates uncovered that athletes were packing up and leaving Olympic City U.S.A. Our report, Olympic City Identity Crisis, found that some teams were leaving for North Carolina, drawn in by a large amount of funding granted to a training facility in Charlotte.

Now, just this week, the Colorado Springs Chamber and Economic Development Council (EDC) says the Olympic City U.S.A branding is not resonating with businesses.

READ MORE: ‘Olympic City USA does not resonate with the businesses’: Is Colorado Springs’ rebrand looming?

On Wednesday, 13 Investigates asked the mayor if this means it's time for a change. You can watch the video of our questions and the mayor's answers above.

The Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC and Colorado Springs Sports Corporation shared the following statement:

Olympic City USA is a brand that reflects the unique role Colorado Springs plays as home to the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum, and more than 60 national and international sports organizations. Our city strives to embody the Olympic values of excellence, respect, and friendship. This brand is an ideal fit for organizations like the Colorado Springs Sports Corporation, whose objective is to attract world-class sporting events and tournaments that draw visitors, strengthen our reputation, and generate significant economic impact.

As our city continues to grow, Colorado Springs is recognized as a dynamic community with much to offer in addition to sports. The Chamber & EDC is focused on ensuring our region is positioned with decision-makers outside our community including businesses and site selectors evaluating Colorado Springs as a place to live, work, and invest.

To keep our community competitive, we are building a broader messaging strategy that complements the pride and values of Olympic City USA and highlights the many strengths that make Colorado Springs attractive. We, and many organizations, share the same goal in strengthening Colorado Springs’ economy and quality of life by ensuring our city is recognized for all it has to offer.

Below is a transcript of the questions and answers with the mayor as well:

KRDO13's Mackenzie Stafford: Our team reported on Olympic teams leaving the city. Now we're hearing a report from the chamber and EDC that the Olympic City USA branding does not resonate with businesses. What's your response to that?

Mayor Yemi Mobolade: That's an ongoing report and research they're doing. Um, I haven't seen that report yet, but I can speak to the city's brand itself, that it's alive and well and not going anywhere.

This summer was, in fact, a big summer for us as we welcomed legends and Hall of Fame athletes. Many of them I was-- I had the opportunity of meeting and we celebrated that here in Colorado Springs, inducting 12 legends into the Hall of Fame. And a couple of mayors from the future host cities came. Mayor Bass from L.A., um, came to celebrate with us. Mayor Mendenhall from Salt Lake City, also a future host city, came to celebrate with us.

So I do understand that it may not connect with every business, but that has never been the intent of the brand. It's a quality of life brand. And actually, um, we-- they say a great city steals ideas from other cities. Just for a way of background, this was an idea that was birthed from Nashville. We learned from them that when they call themselves Music City USA, that is not necessarily what the business community connects with.

They are a lot, a lot of, a lot of their efforts is around medical, professional, scientific, and that is the focus of Nashville. But what Music City USA gives them is just this quality of life opportunity to celebrate who they are as a community, and that's what Olympic City USA does for us in Colorado Springs.

KRDO13's Mackenzie Stafford: Understood. Would the city make any changes to try to better connect with businesses, especially when it comes to aerospace and defense, where we're trying to bring more of those businesses here?

Mayor Yemi Mobolade: Yeah, I would say we are actively working on aerospace. In fact, I had a meeting yesterday with another business that is excited to expand into Colorado Springs. Earlier this week-- or, last week-- we actually celebrated Morbius adding 75 jobs, and that came right after the president's announcement.

And so we expect our aerospace, space, defense, and cybersecurity to continue to grow. That work continues independent of the brand. I think the confusion is that those two are deeply connected. The businesses in Colorado Springs is one sector of our economy and our quality of life. We have the nonprofit sector. We have the private sector. We have the faith sector, and so the work to support all these sectors will continue. And then above, above all of it is this overreaching, overarching brand that celebrates who we are as a city, and Olympic is still one of the most recognizable brands in the world, so we are celebrating this ecosystem of Olympic assets that are still alive and well in Colorado Springs.

But economic development, believe it or not, we will continue to do that. By the way, I've had the most um in my 2 and a half years in office, had more record economic development agreements than any mayor in our city. And so that is one of many things that we are celebrating.

On Wednesday afternoon, KRDO13 received this response from the Colorado Springs Chamber and EDC.

“The Newmark study gave us valuable feedback on how Colorado Springs is viewed by decision makers outside our region, including future residents and businesses looking at moving to our city as well as site selectors who help businesses looking to expand or relocate. For our community to stay competitive, it’s important that our brand not only celebrates what makes us unique, but also resonates with the businesses and talent we’re working to attract. 

Being home to the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, the Training Center, and more than 60 sports organizations is a significant point of pride for Colorado Springs. At the same time, we need to ensure our broader brand helps open doors which is why this work is key for the long-term economic success of our community.”

-Dani Bolling, COO, Colorado Springs Chamber and EDC

Stay up to date with the latest local news, sports, and investigations by downloading the KRDO13 app. Click here to download it from the Apple App Store. Android users can download it from Google Play here.