Grant for SB Airport

[Wilson]

I just looked at ATADS stats.
1998 = 99,656 total operations
2009 = 40,235 total operations

An operation is a take off or landing. Less than half in 2009.

Can this be tied to the disillusionment of Notre Dame football?

[backstagedee]

Fort Wayne has similar decline to SBN, INDY has less decline and O'Hare saw a climb from 810,000 operations in 1990 to 992,000 in 2004 then back down to 827,000 for 2009.

[raycyrx]

the capacity needs to be there and ready and this type of reconstruction and expansion is needed to allow more sizeable aircraft at the gates at the same time. You cant wait until there is over crowding like we have here at Ohare before we say "oh we should expand" costs are cheaper now, labor is less expensive, materials are reasonable. Now is the best time to make capital improvements.

Umm... you're kidding, right? Comparing South Bend to Ohare? Exactly what kind of traffic do you expect to show up here?

SBN needs to concentrate on being a fine REGIONAL airport. Anything more is just delusion and money pitting.

[Stevedm]

the capacity needs to be there and ready and this type of reconstruction and expansion is needed to allow more sizeable aircraft at the gates at the same time. You cant wait until there is over crowding like we have here at Ohare before we say "oh we should expand" costs are cheaper now, labor is less expensive, materials are reasonable. Now is the best time to make capital improvements.

Umm... you're kidding, right? Comparing South Bend to Ohare? Exactly what kind of traffic do you expect to show up here?

SBN needs to concentrate on being a fine REGIONAL airport. Anything more is just delusion and money pitting.

With Notre Dame having MANA and with Innovation and Ignition park, regional will not cut it in the longterm. The fruits of these investments will begin to show up in our economy in 3-5 years and I think that being ready for that by starting now really is a good idea. We will have a serious increase in flights from many regions of the country and the airport in its current step is not able to sutain itself.

This investment is needed, justified and is a nod to laying the ground work for our future growth a technology hub.
You dont wait to make capital investments like this until its dire, you do it when it makes economic sense, with the federal grant money available and with the likelyhood we will get passed up for high speed rail, we need to have alternatives ready and waiting.

yes I am comparing us to Ohare. Look i fly out of that place about once a month, the place is an overcrowded disaster that forces backups across the country. You see the nonsense going on now for the new runway that needs to be added in? There is so much fighting going on between Chicago and the neighboring Bensenville, that they will miss the window to get this done for a smaller cost than it will take in just 24 months from now.

when the tech parks take off, which I believe will be successful due to Notre Dame, you will see the airports flghts increase dramatically over the next decade. We need to be ready for this by doing it now.

Its a positive a logical reasonably priced expansion and modernization. I suggest that we can it with the bitch fest abotu everything if were going to have a flying pigs chance of credibility during discussions with members of the opposite party.

[raycyrx]

SBN will only ever be a regional airport. We can either accept that and have it excel in that role, or continue to waste money chasing pipe dreams.