OLYMPIC CITY IDENTITY CRISIS: Teams follow the money and say goodbye to Colorado Springs
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - In February 2024, multiple Olympic teams told KRDO13 Investigates that they didn't have the resources they needed at the Olympic Training Center, based in Colorado Springs. Because of that, they were considering moving elsewhere to be supported.
The news was met with pushback from Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade and his support staff.
"Non-profits, businesses, residents -- people make decisions all the time in terms of where to be, where to live. Where to move their business, where to best to be. We welcome that," said Mayor Mobolade, when questioned about the movement of athletes and coaches elsewhere. It came despite the city pledging the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee $31.74 million over a 30-year span for its headquarters to remain in Colorado Springs and for improvements to be made at the Olympic Training Center.
"People come in, they move. But does that mean we have a problem on our hands? I don't believe so," said Mayor Mobolade.
Now, one year later, some athletes have moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, the site of the U.S. Performance Center, to follow large sums of money earmarked by the North Carolina General Assembly.
Athletes with USA Pentathlon Multisport are now training full-time at the U.S. Performance Center in Charlotte as of mid-February 2025. Video posted on their Facebook page shows the Olympic hopefuls training in each of the sport's emphases: fencing, running, swimming, shooting, and completing ninja-style obstacle courses.
It was in the fall of 2024 that USA Fencing also announced it, too, was considering a new future home for its headquarters to include Pueblo. Neither USA Fencing nor Pueblo leaders could provide an update as of this publication.
The shift is part of a larger effort to lure teams to the center, based on the UNC Charlotte campus, as previously reported.
Money Talks
The vision of creating an Olympic hub was successfully sold to North Carolina General Assembly Members.
Documents show that legislators there green-lighted $12.5 million in 2021, and another $12.5 million in 2022 as a "grant to the U.S. Performance Center in Kannapolis" for capitol needs. And more: $22 million in 2023, and a subsequent $8 million in 2024 was designated to the North Carolina Sports Legacy Foundation, a non-profit formed to "support the U.S. Olympic Committee" to "provide scholarships to the U.S. Performance Center" for capitol needs.
That's a tally of $55 million in recent years, solely counting public funds.
It far eclipses that of Colorado Springs' financial offerings.
In 2024, Mayor Mobolade vowed to meet with the CEOs of Olympic National Governing Bodies for listening sessions to "make sure that Colorado Springs is the best place our Olympic and Paralympic sports in the U.S."
However, when KRDO13 Investigates asked for a follow-up interview in February 2025, we were told the mayor would "respectfully decline an interview." We then asked for a statement to a list of questions about more oversight at the Olympic Training Center. As of this publication, we have not received a response.
The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee did not respond to our requests for comment.
