The Colorado Economic Development Commission played defense on Thursday, approving tax incentives to keep some local companies in place. But it went on offense as well, trying to lure the U.S. arm of a New Zealand-based sports governing authority to Colorado Springs.
Project Kiwi, the codename given to an unnamed New Zealand nonprofit, oversees a major Olympic sport in the U.S. and is considering Colorado Springs as well as Indianapolis for a new training and wellness center campus that would be the “heart and hub of their sport in the USA.” The nonprofit’s investment would also include a U.S. headquarters.
“The selected community will help the organization further solidify its global leadership position in this sport and its disciplines and continue to holistically develop young athletes. The campus will be a full-service, high-performance, multi-use facility that can accommodate the training, and wellness needs of all competitive disciplines within the sport, as well as space for educational events, competitive opportunities, and administrative needs,” according to a description of the incentive request provided to the commission by staff at the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade.
The sport wasn’t named, but some of the biggest sports in New Zealand are cricket, rugby, soccer and netball, an offshoot of basketball. Netball, however, isn’t played at the Summer Olympics and has never caught on in the U.S., unlike rugby, which is one of the fastest-growing sports in the country. The International Cricket Council is based in Dubai and FIFA, soccer’s governing authority, is based in Zurich.
Rugby sevens, a slimmer version of the sport, is played at the Olympics. But World Rugby, the sport’s governing authority, is based in Dublin, Ireland, not in New Zealand. USA Rugby, which promotes the sport in the United States, is based in Glendale. A call and email to the nonprofit about a possible relocation to Colorado Springs were not returned.
The commission agreed to provide Project Kiwi $552,500 in cash incentives from the state’s Strategic Fund for the creation of 85 new full-time jobs paying an average annual wage of $97,235 per job. The commission also agreed to provide another $1 million in Job Growth Incentive Tax Credits over five years, a sign that the state sees the facility as a way to build on its reputation as a hub for Olympic athletes.
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Most of the six incentive awards approved focused on the retention of companies already in Colorado. The largest at $4.2 million in Job Growth Incentive Tax Credits went to Project Atlantis, an unnamed Boulder area manufacturing company looking to consolidate its other U.S. operations into Colorado. It is also considering relocating to Georgia, North Carolina or Texas.
Of the company’s 165 employees, 130 are already in the state. Should it choose Colorado’s incentive offer, the company has pledged to create 255 net new jobs at an average annual wage of $129,711, which is 145% of the average annual wage in Boulder County. The positions will include operators, data engineers, and sales personnel.
Project Penguin, a Colorado company that has developed an electrochemical decarbonization process using renewable energy, is looking at Jefferson County or Houston for a new research and development/manufacturing facility. The company currently has 90 of its 120 workers in Colorado and expects to create another 40 new jobs paying an average annual wage of $84,243.
The commission approved up to $644,465 in Job Growth Incentive Tax Credits over eight years if those jobs are delivered.