Would Have Been Part Of Colorado Springs' 'City Of Champions' Program

Colorado Springs will not be building a WWII aviation museum in the downtown area after a piece of legislation that could have led to funding for the project was tabled by the state legislature, according to Mayor John Suthers.

Suthers made the announcement to the City Council at a luncheon meeting Tuesday, according to the Colorado Springs Gazette.

The city has originally hoped to build a downtown stadium and events center as part of its "City of Champions" initiative. But a study released in February showed that the project did not make economic sense. At that time, the operators of the National Museum of World War II aviation offered an alternative project to bring a part of their collection to a new downtown facility.

The museum hosts a large collection of WWII aircraft, and most of them would have remained at the Colorado Springs Airport.

Nearly four years ago, the Colorado State Economic Development Commission has set aside $120.5 million from sales taxes over 30 years to pay for a downtown stadium and other major projects. The necessary bill, SB248, giving the Colorado economic development commission the authority to approve modifications to the previously-approved regional tourism project, was tabled by the Senate Committee on Appropriations with no timeline for reconsideration. The Economic Development Commission had unanimously opposed the bill.

The museum, however, still plans to expand ... on the 21-acre campus it occupies at the airport. But there will be no museum annex in downtown Colorado Springs.

FMI: http://choosecolorado.com/