Publicized Name Change Of An Airport In Hernando County, FL

The Hillsborough Aviation Authority may have unwittingly lent a helping hand to a competing airport in Hernando County, FL, when they filed a lawsuit challenging the new name of the airport in the neighboring county.

In an opinion column appearing in the Tampa Bay Times, columnist Dan DeWitt writes that Hernando County could not have asked for better publicity for the airport name change than they got from the lawsuit. Hernando county re-named the airport Brooksville-Tampa Regional Airport. They say that the Hernando airport offers many of the benefits of nearby Tampa International Airport more simply and less expensively.

The issue stems from the use of "Tampa" in the airport name. Tampa is in Hillsborough county, and Tampa airport authorities claims that they control any airport name that includes the words "Tampa" and "Airport." Attorneys for Hernando County say that a place name cannot be trademarked.

The fight has been publicized by organizations (like Aero-News) which are read by airport operators, pilots, and other aviation professionals ... just the audience that would benefit from knowing about the name change. Hernando County Commissioner David Russell said "you can't buy this kind of publicity."

Of course, the judge could rule in favor of Hillsborough county, which would mean that Hernando county spent a lot of money on focus groups, signage, and legal fees for nothing.

FMI: www.hernandocounty.us/bocc/distmap.htm, www.tampaairport.com