US$10m (€7.8m, £6.2m) has been granted towards the construction of the United States Olympic Museum, as its backers edge towards the US$70m (€55.2m, £43.5m) total needed to make the Colorado Springs dream a reality.

The donation, made by trustees of the El Pomar Foundation in Colorado where the facility will be built, is the largest single donation received for the project since the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) signed a 30-year deal with the not-for-profit museum for the facility to be built.

"Colorado Springs is a proven leader in its support of our country's Olympic and Paralympic athletes," said El Pomar Foundation chair and chief executive William J Hybl.

"Spencer Penrose envisioned Colorado Springs as a thriving hub of tourism and commerce, and the US Olympic Museum will be a destination tourist attraction, and a powerful economic driver for the region. It will honour the Olympic Movement and the athletes who have achieved and endured."

Under current plans, the museum will feature historic artefacts, exhibits with video and audio presentations, facilities for temporary exhibitions and permanent collections relating to the US and global Olympic and Paralympic movements. The venue will also become home to a US Olympic Hall of Fame, with the capacity to host special events, as well as a 20,000sq ft (1,858sq m) exhibition hall.

Diller Scofidio Renfro, Fentress Architects, Morphosis Architects, Pei Cobb Freed & Partners Architects and Rex Architecture have all been shortlisted to operate as design architect, while ESI Design, Gallagher & Associates and Ralph Appelbaum Associates have been shortlisted as exhibit designers. A shortlist has also been revealed for general contractors on the project, including Bryan-Turner Construction, GE Johnson Construction, GH Phipps Construction and Mortenson-Colarelli Construction.