Emailed to Colorado Springs City Council members on October 16, 2026.
Dear Members of City Council,
As you review the City’s proposed 2027 budget, I am writing to ask you to address a longstanding disparity in how the City invests LART tourism funding across its designated tourism sectors.
The City’s preliminary budget identifies four tourism sectors and their designated funding organizations. The proposed 2027 allocations reveal a significant disparity:
2027 Proposed LART Allocations
| Tourism Sector / Organization | Proposed Funding |
| General Tourism – Visit Colorado Springs | $6,032,250 |
| Sports & Community Events – Sports Corp | $1,648,173 |
| Tourist Attractions & Economic Development – Chamber & EDC | $905,625 |
| Arts & Cultural Destinations – COPPeR | $622,125 |
| Outdoor Recreation – City Parks | $120,000 |
Source: City of Colorado Springs 2027 Preliminary Budget, page 101.
While the other sectors benefit from dedicated contracts that provide consistent funding, outdoor recreation does not. Instead, it has relied on annual LART Committee allocations, leaving it at a substantial disadvantage. Even including the proposed additional $75,000 for Pikes Peak Outdoors through Visit COS’ contract, the total outdoor recreation investment would be just $195,000—far below every other sector.
This is difficult to reconcile with the importance of outdoor recreation to our visitor economy. Outdoor activities consistently rank among the leading activities of visitors to our region and are a major reason people choose Colorado Springs as a destination. Our exceptional outdoor assets also contribute significantly to quality of life, workforce attraction, and economic development.
As the State-designated Outdoor Regional Partner, Pikes Peak Outdoors has helped leverage more than $3 million in regional investment, including hundreds of thousands with direct benefit to the City through our recent implementation grant. Our regional Vision Plan and partnerships with land managers, businesses, and community organizations are guiding investments in trails, recreation management, conservation, and visitor experiences—positioning Colorado Springs for additional outside funding and economic opportunity.
I appreciate the City’s recent recognition that regional outdoor recreation leadership does not fit neatly into an annual event-grant process and its proposal to provide support through the Visit COS contract. However, this arrangement does not address the broader disparity in how the City invests in outdoor recreation compared with its other designated tourism sectors.
The proposed budget also suggests an opportunity to act now. It projects $10.54 million in LART revenue, approximately $9.70 million in expenditures, and a year-end fund balance of approximately $942,000. While I recognize that fund balances must be managed responsibly and are not necessarily fully available for new commitments, these projections warrant consideration of whether a more meaningful investment in outdoor recreation can be accommodated.
I am asking City Council, as part of its current budget review, to establish a dedicated two-year outdoor recreation sector contract for 2027 and 2028, funded at a level more consistent with the other tourism sectors and awarded through a competitive process. This would provide funding stability, accountability, and an opportunity to select the organization best positioned to advance regional outdoor recreation leadership and tourism development. The contract could then be evaluated alongside the other tourism sector contracts in 2029.
This is not simply a request for additional funding for one organization. It is an opportunity to align the City’s tourism investment strategy with one of the region’s most significant visitor attractions and economic assets.
Thank you for your consideration and your commitment to the continued success of our tourism economy.
Sincerely,
Becky Leinweber
