As Alabama lawmakers stood with President Donald Trump on Tuesday afternoon to celebrate the billions in investment they expect U.S. Space Command headquarters will bring their state, Colorado politicians and local leaders said they were disappointed but not shocked by the news.

In an initial statement Tuesday, Mayor Yemi Mobolade said the command’s future relocation from Colorado Springs to Huntsville, Ala., was an issue of national concern as much as it is disheartening for Colorado Springs.

Mobolade said the city has “long understood” Space Command’s move was a priority for the Trump administration, though local officials “from day one … have worked with our congressional delegation and community partners to keep U.S. Space Command here because it is in the best interest of our national defense and America’s global standing.”

For example, Denver-based lobbying and law firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck has been making a case for the city of Colorado Springs to retain the command. Federal lobbying services have been a part of the city’s contract with the firm since August 2021, a former city spokeswoman told The Gazette in early May. Those services cost $15,000 a month.

In July 2023, former President Joe Biden announced Space Command headquarters would remain in Colorado Springs, following two years of uncertainty; the command reached full operational capability in December of that year. Since Trump was elected in November, Alabama lawmakers have touted that he would move Space Command headquarters to Huntsville, as the president said during his first term in office he would do.

At a news conference Tuesday afternoon, Mobolade said he was tired of the Space Command fight and the uncertainty it meant for military officers. The mayor said he hopes the Colorado delegation will continue working together to bring public and private space investment to the city.

Aerospace and defense accounts for more than 40% of Colorado Springs’ economy. More than 200 space, aerospace, cybersecurity and defense companies that employ 111,000 people and had an economic impact of more than $10.2 billion in 2022, according to the Colorado Springs Chamber & Economic Development Corp.’s website.

Mayor Mobolade responds to Trump's move of Space Command to Alabama

“We’re not talking about losing an incredible asset and all of a sudden space in Colorado Springs is over,” Mobolade said. “If you’re paying attention to the president’s priorities, with Golden Dome and some of the expansion efforts he is planning to make, we know for sure Colorado Springs will be the beneficiary of some of those new measures.”

Golden Dome is a missile defense system that aerospace and defense industry experts as well as economic development officials across Colorado have said could bring a windfall of investment to the state’s space economy. 

Mobolade’s economic optimism was echoed by other local politicians. City Councilmember Roland Rainey, a veteran who worked in the Air Force Space Command, said Colorado Springs should remain a “mecca” for the aerospace economy and has opportunities to continue adding new business.

Mark Stafford, president and CEO of Delta Solutions & Strategies, a prime contractor for Space Command, said he believes the impact the move will have on Colorado and Colorado Springs will be minimal in the long run.

“This will take time,” he said of the command’s relocation. Experts have previously told The Gazette a move like this could take years. “Our economy in Colorado is so resilient; here in Colorado Springs (this decision) will be a blip on the radar in a few years. There are so many defense contracts and opportunities in Southern Colorado, even up to … the Boulder area, and so much growth in the space industry that I don’t think it will hurt us negatively.”

Delta Solutions & Strategies has multiple Space Command contracts. As a prime contractor, the company employs various other companies to complete its work. In December, the company became a subsidiary of Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation (UIC), an Alaska Native Corporation, and its Springfield, Va.-based Bowhead Family of Companies.  

Delta Solutions & Strategies supports Space Command across its four locations in Colorado and one in California. One of those is a 100,000-square-foot secure building. Previously, Redstone Arsenal had set aside 60 acres of raw land for Space Command.

Even with Space Command’s future move, Delta Solutions & Strategies will keep its Bowhead office in Colorado Springs, Stafford said. The company will add more office space locally.

The company will also expand its office in Huntsville, plans that were in place before Tuesday’s announcement, Stafford said.

Delta Solutions & Strategies employs about 400 people in total, including about 250 along Colorado’s Front Range.

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“Other missions will move here to Colorado in the future. … No one wants to lose that combatant command, but I am such an optimist about the strength of our space industry,” Stafford said.

Dale Anderson, who began his new post Tuesday with the Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC as its senior vice president of economic and defense development & government affairs, said in an email his focus is to build on the Pikes Peak region’s and Colorado’s foundation as a leader in aerospace and defense to “secure future missions and growth.”

Anderson served former U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn for 18 years in key roles, including chief of staff from 2018-2024. He recently retired from congressional service following his most recent role as senior advisor to Lamborn’s successor, U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank.

“It’s important to note that this decision does not diminish the significant role Colorado Springs plays in supporting national security. Our local economy has grown into a powerhouse for space, aerospace and defense and cybersecurity and we expect that to continue,” Anderson said. “Defense contractors already here remain deeply invested in this community because of our ecosystem, talent and infrastructure. We do not expect to see them relocate as a result of today’s announcement.”

Looking toward the future, the chamber is “doubling down” on its priorities to support housing, expand child care and provide companies the resources they need to thrive — all of which “make Colorado Springs mission ready,” he said.

New initiatives, including the Colorado Aerospace & Defense Economic Council, are helping the chamber “(lay) the foundation to attract and retain the companies and missions that will define the future of this industry.”

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said his office is considering legal challenges to keep Space Command in Colorado Springs. Mobolade said he had no interest in joining that effort.

“These decisions are not new. They happen all the time, in terms of scaling up, scaling down. We will continue to work well with our federal partners and continue to advocate for our needs,” Mobolade said.

Former Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers said Space Command’s relocation is unwise. 

“We have no other avenue but to continue to talk about the fact that this is dispiriting to the national defense mission of Space Force. We hope to heck that somebody in Congress gets some courage and raises those issues in the appropriation process,” he said.

Suthers served as mayor from June 2015 to June 2023, including when the debate initially unfolded about where the command should be located. He is now a shareholder working at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, though he is not involved with the firm’s lobbying arm that contracts with the city.

Johnna Reeder Kleymeyer, Chamber & EDC President & CEO, said in a written statement Tuesday the chamber will travel to Washington, D.C., with a delegation of business and defense industry leaders later this month.

Local representatives will meet with congressional delegation members and federal agencies to show why Colorado Springs is still “a top location for aerospace and defense jobs and research and development,” she said.

Mobolade is part of the local delegation heading to D.C.; the mayor said he already has a meeting scheduled with the White House to continue discussing military funding priorities.