The private U.S.O.C. investment
Story By: Bill Folsom
Source: KOAA
Published Thu Apr 10, 2008, 06:41 PM MDT
Updated Thu Apr 10, 2008, 08:20 PM MDT
The proposal that got the United States Olympic Committee to stay in Colorado Springs is a complex series of deals. Part of it is twenty-three million dollars invested by the local reaI estate investment company LandCo Equity Partners.
There had to be quick action getting the proposal together, and LandCo’s C.E.O. Ray Marshall offers that his company was in a position to help the city. The company had already started work on an office building where LandCo had planned to move its headquarters. Now that building will be the new home of the U.S.O.C. Where will LandCo now go? With a smile Marshall says, “That’s a good question.”
"We put an Olympic team together," says Marshall referring to the many members of LandCo that will take on the multiple Olympic redevelopment projects. Some will work on the new U.S.OC. offices. Another team works on the new offices for Olympic governing bodies. One more team will focus efforts at the U.S. Olympic campus where there will be new housing, eating areas, and an updated visitor center.
Why does a private company get involved with an offer like this by a municipality? Marshal offers that he grew up in Colorado Springs; he remembers the U.S.O.C. arriving in the 70's; and that he and his business partners all are big fans of sport. "So you can associate with what it takes to be a great athlete. The hard work, dedication to be an Olympian, it is 100% dedication."
Admittedly, this is also about business. Marshall and his partners are now real estate advisors for the U.S.O.C. That puts their logo next to some very prominent names in business. "We can use the Olympic committee rings. It brings a lot of credibility to what we do and what we can do," according to Marshal who adds the company has other property downtown in Colorado Springs, and he sees the Olympic presence as a boost to revitalize downtown. "Overall in our local economy I think this is going to be a catalyst for a lot of expansion.”
