COLORADO SPRINGS — The U.S. Olympic Museum and Hall of Fame topped out on Friday. The Board of Directors, staff, construction team, project partners, stakeholders, donors, community members, and the Olympic family celebrated the construction milestone with the ceremonial placement of the last structural steel beam in the exhibit portion of the museum, as an acknowledgement of the tremendous progress made in constructing the facility to date.
More than 100 people attended and participated in the signing of the steel beam that was then hoisted atop the four-story structure. Speakers at the ceremony included Andie Doyle, U.S. Olympic Museum board vice chair; Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers; Thayer Tutt, vice chairman and chief investment officer, El Pomar Foundation; and Jim Johnson, CEO and chairman, GE Johnson.
The design and construction team, dedicated to creating a sustainable and accessible facility, includes Diller Scofidio + Renfro; Anderson Mason Dale Architects; Gallagher & Associates; Barrie Projects; and GE Johnson Construction Company.
“We are proud to celebrate this exciting milestone today with donors, partners, stakeholders, the community, and the Olympic family. It is evidence of the excellent work completed to date, and motivation for the team to pursue excellence in the work still to be done. We look forward to celebrating other exciting milestones in the coming months, as the building truly begins to resemble the final product,” said Dave Ogrean, board chair for the U.S. Olympic Museum and Hall of Fame and former executive director of USA Hockey.
The U.S. Olympic Museum will be the new home of the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame, a dynamic tribute to inductees – including athletes, coaches, leaders and supporters of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic movement—and their compelling stories. The 60,000-square-foot building will embody the forward-looking values of Team USA, with highly interactive exhibit space, a state-of-the-art theater, gift shop, café, and broadcast studio.
The effort to create the U.S. Olympic Museum and Hall of Fame began in 2013 and after years of foundational work, construction on the project began in June of 2017. In 2014, the USOM signed a renewable agreement with the U.S. Olympic Committee granting a 30-year relationship for the operation of the Museum.
Established as the lead project in the City for Champions initiative, the U.S. Olympic Museum will:
- Serve an estimated 350,000 annual visitors, of which 60% to 80% are projected to visit from out of state
- Create 40 to 60 new permanent jobs with salaries between $30,000 and $100,000
- Generate an estimated $28.3 million in new sales tax revenue over 30 years
Photos courtesy of GE Johnson
