Cost Increases Make Fifth Consecutive Show Unlikely

The Dillon, CP Air Show, billed as "The Highest Air Show on Earth", is facing an uncertain future after organizers looked at the costs of putting on the show for a fifth straight year.

For the past four years, the show has drawn thousands of spectators to Dillon's Marina Park at Lake Dillon to watch WWII and other aircraft perform. But now, the Summit Daily News of Summit County, CO reports that the organizers looked at a proposal that increased the cost of the event by over $20,000 and "decided it wasn't feasible."

The event has been staged by Rower Airshows, a company owned by Gary Rower, a resident of Breckenridge, CO and former Air Force Pilot. Gwen Rowan, his wife and manager of the business, said that the principal reason for the cost increase was the departure of Dillon Marina Manager Bob Evans, who is also a pilot. Evans filled the role of Air Boss for the show in his capacity as an employee of the town. But since he is no longer working for the town, the show's producers would have to bring in someone else to fill that role.

The city says it has put out an RFP in an attempt to find another producer, but Kerstin Anderson, the Marketing and Events Director for the town, said it is unlikely that another vendor can be found on short notice to organize the event. There are also only a handful of pilots who are qualified to perform aerobatics at the elevation of the town ... about 9,000 feet above sea level.

Those and other factors mean the future of the show is in limbo. “We like the event so we don’t want to kill the idea, but we’re not very confident it’ll come in at the right price point,” Anderson said.

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