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A jump rope team from China competes in the single rope team freestyle competition during the World Jump Rope Championships that took place in July at Colorado College’s Ed Robson Arena in Colorado Springs. The event drew more than 1,200 athletes and pumped $9 million into the local economy, underscoring the importance of sports and athletic events as part of the Colorado Springs-area tourism industry.
A jump rope team from China competes in the single rope team freestyle competition during the World Jump Rope Championships that took place in July at Colorado College’s Ed Robson Arena in Colorado Springs. The event drew more than 1,200 athletes and pumped $9 million into the local economy, underscoring the importance of sports and athletic events as part of the Colorado Springs-area tourism industry.
The Colorado Springs-area tourism industry understandably loves to tout internationally known attractions such as Pikes Peak and the Garden of the Gods Park, increasing numbers of airlines and flights at the city’s airport that bring visitors to town and new projects such as the Air Force Academy visitor’s center scheduled to open next year.
But industry experts say don’t sleep on the economic impact that sports and athletic events can have on tourism, too, especially in a city that’s the headquarters of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, home to roughly two dozen amateur sports groups and an Olympic Training Center and bills itself as “Olympic City U.S.A.”
“A lot of people who may not visit this city generally would come to run the Pikes Peak Marathon or do the (Broadmoor Pikes Peak International) Hill Climb or the (Pikes Peak) Ascent,” said Tommy Aicher, dean of the College of Business and Administration at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs and who’s taught classes in sports management.
“Those events, when the participant comes, they tend to bring the family, too,” Aicher said. “And so, it’s ‘my event’s on Saturday, so I’m going to come on Thursday and then do all the tourist things Thursday and Friday, participate Saturday, maybe do a few more tourist things on Sunday and then leave on Monday.’ So what we see happen with sport events, it’s not just a single day. It’s how we can get them to come for a longer period of time.”
The significance of sports and athletic events as a contributor to tourism was one of several takeaways Wednesday from the annual business meeting of Visit Colorado Springs, the local convention and visitors bureau that promotes the area’s attractions and events.
The group’s event, a look back at industry achievements over the last year and a look ahead to 2024, took place as part of a luncheon at the northwest side Colorado Springs Marriott and was attended by about 250 people.
There perhaps was no better example of sports and athletic events contributing to local tourism last year than the World Jump Rope Championships that were held in July at Colorado College’s Ed Robson Arena.
The competition drew more than 1,200 participants from over 20 countries, said Doug Price, Visit Colorado Springs’ president and CEO. Along with the participants’ families and friends, they produced 22,000 room nights at area hotels with an economic impact of almost $9 million, he said.
“If there’s any question about whether we’re Olympic City U.S.A., I can assure you those folks came here to experience our city and show to the (U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee) what a sport jump rope really is,” Price said.
This year’s summer Olympic games, which are scheduled July 26 through Aug. 11 in Paris, also will help shine a light on Colorado Springs and the chance to experience the Olympic movement in the city.
One of those opportunities: tourists and local residents can visit the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum in downtown Colorado Springs, which marks its fourth anniversary in July.
To help put the city in the spotlight during this Olympic year, former American swimmer Missy Franklin — who won four gold medals and five overall at the 2012 summer Olympic games in London — has agreed to act as a spokesperson on behalf of Visit Colorado Springs to promote the Springs as Olympic City U.S.A., Price said.
Franklin’s voice will be heard by travelers at the Colorado Springs Airport, while Visit Colorado Springs will buy social media ad time primarily in cities that have nonstop flights into the Springs, Price said. Spots already have been filmed with Franklin and her promotional campaign will kick off around June, he said.
Franklin’s message, according to Price: “You don’t have to go to Paris to experience the games.”
With the Olympic & Paralympic Museum marking its anniversary right around the time of the summer games in Paris, Price said he hopes the venue will see an uptick in visitors and lead to even more attention for the museum heading into the 2028 summer Olympic games that will take place in Los Angeles.
“As the museum gains traction and recognition,” he said, “more and more people are going to realize they can come here, they can watch it on big screens, they can experience it here with our residents and get a chance to say ‘what’s better, if you can’t go to the games, come to Olympic City U.S.A.'”
At Wednesday’s annual tourism meeting, Price also recapped industry gains in 2023, including the addition of Avelo Airlines and Sun Country Airlines at the Colorado Springs Airport. Collections from the city’s tax on hotel rooms and rental cars — an indicator of tourism activity — also rose last year from the previous year.
This year, Southwest Airlines is scheduled to launch daily, nonstop service to the Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport starting June 4, while Delta Airlines in July will add a second daily flight to Atlanta.
“We’ll finally have a nonstop to the mid-Atlantic, D.C.-Baltimore area, which is just going to be another great way for both residents to travel and visitors to get here,” Price said.
As the World Jump Rope Championships concluded on Sunday, International Jump Rope Union President Shaun Hamilton pronounced the weeklong event…
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