Residents of unincorporated areas of El Paso County will share in the costs ñ and possible benefits ñ of the Colorado Springs’ City for Champions proposed downtown sports and entertainment development. Supporters predict increased construction and tourism revenue, which will flow to areas outside city limits. Opponents cite philosophical issues with using government funds and duplicating existing facilities.The City for Champions goal is to bring four major sports and tourism venues to Colorado Springs. An Olympics museum and a sports and events stadium would be built in the southwest downtown area. A new Air Force Academy visitors’ center and a University of Colorado at Colorado Springs sports medicine and performance center would be built on those campuses.The preliminary financial plan issued by supporters estimates the total cost of the project at $250 million. An additional $51 million will be spent for parking and pedestrian bridges connecting the downtown projects to America the Beautiful Park and surrounding attractions. Funds from the state’s Regional Tourism Act will pay for a portion of the startup costs. The rest of the money will come from the increase in sales tax revenue, which proponents say the city and county will earn from increased tourism and community growth.While most of the funds are supposed to come from the state regional tourism tax and city sales tax, there will be an impact to residents who live in areas outside the city limits, such as Falcon. ìYou’re going to pay for it in some manner,î said Andres Pico, Colorado Springs city councilman representing District 6, which includes Banning Lewis Ranch and other eastern parts of the city southwest of Falcon. ìRight now, the taxing zone they’re proposing isn’t going out into the county, so there isn’t much financial impact directly for out there,î Pico said. ìBut it will if you ever do any shopping at all inside city limits.îThe El Paso County Board of County Commissioners approved a $37,500 payment in January to help the city pay for its funding application with the state. The grant is in addition to a similar payment of the same amount in 2013. The $75,000 paid by the county did not come out of taxpayer money, Pico said. ìMost of the money that has been kicked in for research has been from a community development fund that doesn’t come out of normal taxpayer money,î he said.Proponents say the project will bring a needed tourism boost to the entire community without impacting tax rates or issuing general obligation bonds. ìThe City for Champions project requires no new taxes, no expenditures from either the City or County general funds, and no bond obligations to either the City or County general funds,î according to a March 11 resolution of support adopted by the county commissioners.Part of the increased sales tax revenue from the predicted 450,000 new out-of-state visitors that proponents predicted in the RTA application could fund projects that benefit Falcon, according to the CFC website. ìMore than $300 million in new sales tax over the next 30 years to the City of Colorado Springs, Pikes Peak Rural Transit Authority and El Paso County,î wrote Anne Ricker and Bill Cunningham in their impact study for the city. PPRTA funds have been used in Falcon for projects such as Meridian Road expansion and the extension of Stapleton Road to Highway 24, according to the 2013 PPRTA Report to the Citizens.ìIf it works as advertised, it will certainly impact business base and tourism within the whole area,î Pico said.
