Colorado Springs is America’s Olympic City, just as Cleveland is the heart of rock ‘n’ roll.

The Springs is home to the United States Olympic Committee, 20-plus National Olympic governing bodies, more than 50 national sport organizations and the Colorado Springs Olympic Training Center. Past and present Olympic star athletes are proud to call this city home.

Because of Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, people visit the city. Likewise, new tourists will come to Colorado Springs to visit the Olympic Museum, which will contain an Olympic Hall of Fame. They will spend money at restaurants, shops and hotels, boosting our economy. They will pay the city’s Lodgers and Automobile Rental Tax, otherwise known as LART.

LART taxes are collected by hotels and car rental agencies to fund investments “for tourism or economic development purposes – events, projects and services that attract visitors or enhance the economy of the City and Pikes Peak Region.” LART places the costs of tourism squarely on tourists. It raises out-of-town money for the benefit of locals.

Read more at The Colorado Springs Gazette.