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A year ago Thursday, Springfield’s main airport moved to a new location about four miles south of its original terminal. Since then, the Springfield community has been kept at bay about what will happen with the old airport building. Governor Jay Nixon made an appearance in Springfield Thursday to shed some light on the issue. KSMU’s Royal Yates met with the governor to find out more.
Exactly 365 days after Springfield shut down its old terminal, Governor Jay Nixon held a press conference to announce that most of the space has finally been leased. It was announced earlier this year that Expedia.com would be using much of the old terminal, but there was over 30,000 square feet of space that was still up for grabs. Now that’s changed.
The Missouri branch of the Army National Guard has leased 25,000 square feet of the old Springfield-Branson National Airport terminal for what they called a “training and staging facility.”
General Stephen Danner was also at the press conference to give a little more information about the topic. He said the amenities that the terminal already provided were perfect for the National Guard’s needs. Danner acknowledged the Blackhawk helicopter behind him and said some equipment the Guard uses can cost up to $17 million apiece, and can be ruined by a single hailstorm. The protection the terminal offers makes this new location perfect for their new facility.
Nixon also said he felt Springfield’s terminal was an excellent choice in location for the new facility.
“Clearly it’s a great staging area if there are natural disasters or challenges. Also it’s a great training area. Plus it gives us a potential to transfer other units into this area to ‘beef up’ the air side of the guard,” Nixon said.
He continued to say Springfield should be proud to have the new facility.
“It’s an important mission, and this is the place to have it. Being able to use this facility so we can train and stage folks as they serve us here and around the world is very important for Springfield. We’re glad this deal was able to get done. We expect many more positive things to happen as we watch the growth of the Guard in this region.”
The governor and General Danner said that the new facility would benefit the Ozarks by bringing more people to the area and providing more jobs. Airport spokesman Kent Boyd said Expedia.com hasn’t proposed hiring anyone new when they move to the new location.
Although these two groups are leasing and not buying the space, Boyd said that doesn’t bother him.
“You know, this is going to be a long-term event. It’s going to be a good thing for the airport as well as the city [of Springfield].”
Expedia.com is expected to begin operations in the new terminal by early fall. No specific time has been announced on when the National Guard will begin renovations.
For KSMU News, I’m Royal Yates.
