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An additional concourse could double the airport’s size and economic impact, but airport leadership says traditional funding won’t cover the cost.
The Eugene Airport has big plans, but so far, not enough funds for them to take off.
Passenger traffic numbers have plateaued over the last few years, an indicator of the airport’s capacity constraints, Airport Director Cathryn Stephens told the city council on Monday, Nov. 10.
The airport — owned and operated by the city of Eugene under federal oversight and funding — recently finished a ramp rehabilitation project and runway drainage and wetland improvements. A $22 million Concourse A expansion, which will add 7,000 square feet of seating, is also tentatively moving forward after federal funding was restored.
The upgrades are part of the EUG TREX program, a multimillion-dollar airport improvement effort funded through federal grants, Transportation Security Administration support and city bonds.
But the program’s most ambitious plans remain unfunded, and soaring regional construction costs make the price tag steep, Stephens said. The existing, financed projects already total $208 million; planned future developments would add another $240 million.
Those future projects include ticket counter and baggage claim revamps and the addition of Concourse C, a $177 million expansion that would double the airport’s size. Using traditional bond funding, she said, those projects wouldn’t be possible for another three decades.
“Waiting 30 years to build out C Concourse is really untenable for the airport, as we’re already overcapacity,” Stephens said. “Without major facility expansion, demand, and most importantly, economic development that goes with that demand, will go elsewhere.”
But the financial analysis of the expansion caused some sticker shock, she said. To close the funding gap, the city hired two consulting groups — Turell Group and Kari Westlund Strategic Services — to study alternative funding sources like state and federal grants, congressionally directed spending, public-private partnerships, naming rights and benefactor funding.
Each group has a contract not to exceed $125,000, Stephens said. The study includes a community survey, which asks residents about their airport travel and concerns.
The entire study process, which involves the survey and outreach to community groups, will take about six months.
Passenger numbers are projected to more than double over the next 15 years, Stephens said, mirroring a national air travel boom that has prompted airport expansions up and down the I-5 corridor. Airports in Seattle, Portland, Medford, Sacramento and San Francisco all have major developments planned for the coming years.
“We’re just stuck,” she said. “Airlines have done a great job of utilizing our facility even way beyond the capacity that I thought it would hold.”
Stephens said a new concourse in Eugene would allow for more nonstop flights, including to Atlanta, Orlando, Boston and Hawaii, improve charter facilities for university athletic teams and cut emissions from travelers who currently drive to Portland to fly.
Concourse C and related projects could generate an additional $2 billion annually in regional economic impact, totaling $3.6 billion, and double the airport’s jobs from about 10,300 to 23,500.
Stephens said benefactor funding was her “pie in the sky” for paying for expansion. She pointed to the University of Oregon’s capital investments — which include the Knight Campus, funded by Nike’s Phil Knight — as an example of how private fundraising can contribute to public infrastructure projects.
She cited Provo, Utah, which financed its airport using a blend of state, county, city and regional planning agency funds, and Palm Springs International Airport, which sold three-year naming rights to a concourse to a casino chain. The website for the feasibility study also highlights Purdue University Airport, the country’s first university-owned airport.
When asked by Councilor Alan Zelenka asked how doable the alternative funding sources would be, Stephens said: “Maybe that’s the Pollyanna in me, but I really do think that this is doable. We’re taking all of the best ideas that we’ve picked out out there that have worked, and we’re putting them all together and doing them together, potentially.”
Federal funds restored, for now
Federal funding for the Concourse A expansion was reinstated in June after the Trump administration temporarily revoked the funds in an attempt to force states’ compliance with federal immigration law.
In response to a question from Councilor Matt Keating about the legal battle, Stephens said injunctive relief allowed the city and FAA attorneys to remove problematic grant language, but the federal government has appealed the decision.
“That still left us in a bit of a precarious position,” Stephens said. “If the injunctive relief were to go away, or if the ultimate outcome of the case were not in our favor, then we would not be able to obtain the grant funding.”
Airport staff and FAA partners agreed to spend the grant money as quickly as possible, she added.
“Everybody cross your fingers and toes that we’ll just get through this,” she said.
Hotel development?
Asked by Councilor Greg Evans about a lack of hotel development near the airport, Stephens said the city has put out three separate requests for proposals with no takers.
The airport is now trying to talk directly with hotel developers, but faces an uphill battle because the airport-owned land has a 50-year lease limit, thanks to Federal Aviation Administration regulations.
“The answer I’m still getting is the return on investment is still too far apart, even with a 50-year lease,” Stephens said.
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