Agency Wants Fee From Tennis Court On Pensacola Airport Land

The FAA wants Pensacola (FL) to collect an annual rent -- an amount that could reach nearly $80,000 -- for a city tennis court on city airport property. Old maps show the site of the 16-acre Roger Scott Tennis Center on land belonging to the Pensacola Regional Airport, City Attorney Don Caton told a City Council committee.

"We can't go back and say `Oops, a mistake was made,' " Caton said Monday

Federal grant agreements with the FAA require all airport property be used to benefit the airport, according to a letter from FAA program manager William E. Farris.

"While we can certainly appreciate the airport's desire to provide goodwill to the community, the airport is obligated to use its existing property to satisfy aviation demand or generate revenue to make the airport as self-sustaining as possible," Farris wrote.

Caton recommended that the city cough up the $77,529 annual payment rather than sue the FAA because losing in court could cost at least $5 million. The FAA also wants the city to take another costly step by relocating recreational ball fields near the airport based on a 1947 agreement that transferred the then-surplus federal land to the city.

The agreement allows temporary use for non-aeronautical purposes, but Farris wrote that the land appears to be in a prime area for aviation ventures and that the city should make plans for such use. Hundreds of adults and children use the 17-acre area for baseball, softball and football.

"We would have to acquire land, and I don't know where we would get it," Councilman Jack Nobles said.

FMI: www.flypensacola.com