Monday, April 27, 2009

Gateway Area: Destination 2014

It looks like the 2014 is going to be the big year for the Gateway Airport area. That is the year that the new terminal expansion will be done, the new fire station will be built, and the Gaylord resort is supposed to be up and running around that time as well.

The idea that the number of passengers out of Gateway is going to jump from 300,000 to 600,000 next year seems to be like quite a jump, but anything is possible, especially if you have spent any amount of time near the traffic nightmare that is Sky Harbor these days.

It is also great news that Allegiant air is doing good business as well, but I would encourage the Gateway authority to continue to do what they can to expand the business at Gateway even further. If Alliegant can make up so much of the economic and passenger growth of the area, a misstep by the could also spell a major decline. This is not to say that I see anything but upside from Allegiant in the future, but it is a safe bet to keep our eggs in a couple of different baskets.

Its true as the Mayor said, the vison of Gateway is only beginning to be realized. Let's hope that they can continue to grow in the right direction (even though I still think the logo is goofy).

2 comments:

Brandon Franklin said...

Sweet.

Heath Reed said...

5 years will come fast. We just need to keep with the vision and I hope future Mesa leaders will protect it and stick with it.